PURPOSE: Evaluate functional and/or structural cardiac changes in young normotensive subjects with a family history of hypertension. METHODS: Prospective study was performed with 62 normotensive persons, ages 15 to 30 years, divided in 32 children of hypertensive patients (group 1) and 30 children of normotensive persons (group 2) comparable in blood pressure, body surface area, heart rate, age and sex. After clinical examination, all underwent Doppler-echocardiogram to evaluate cardiac structure and left ventricular (LV) systolic and diastolic function. RESULTS: Systolic LV fractional shortening was increased in group 1 when compared with group 2 (38.03±4.95% and 34.7±4.48%, respectively - p<0.01). Mitral deceleration time (DT) ranged from 85 to 160ms - mean values 116.47±16.99ms - in group 1 and from 100 to 220ms - mean values 126.73±26.66ms - in group 2 (p<0.05). A correlation between LV mass and left atrium (LA) diameter was noted in group 1 (r = 0.514, p<0.01). COCLUSION: Children of hypertensive patients show increased LV function, similar to what occurs in early hypertension and in borderline hypertension, even when there is no evidence of LV hypertrophy or high blood pressure. Mitral DT (shorten in group 1) was the only diastolic parameter that differed in the groups. The correlation between LV mass and LA dimension suggests that LA size could be related to functional and hemodynamic LV changes.
Doppler-echocardiogram; genetic factors; normotensive persons
