Open AccessRelation of Left Ventricular Hypertrophy to Regional Cerebral Blood Flow: Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography Abnormalities in Essential Hypertension
Author(s) -
Sierra Cristina,
Sierra Alejandro de la,
Lomeña Francisco,
Paré Juan Carlos,
Larrousse María,
Coca Antonio
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
the journal of clinical hypertension
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.909
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1751-7176
pISSN - 1524-6175
DOI - 10.1111/j.1524-6175.2006.05700.x
Subject(s) - medicine , left ventricular hypertrophy , cerebral blood flow , single photon emission computed tomography , cardiology , computed tomography , emission computed tomography , muscle hypertrophy , essential hypertension , positron emission tomography , radiology , blood pressure
Several reports have shown that left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is an independent predictor of acute cerebrovascular events. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between LVH and cerebral blood flow in middle‐aged patients with essential hypertension. Forty never‐treated hypertensive patients (24 men, 16 women, aged 50–60 years) without clinical evidence of target organ damage were studied. Regional cerebral blood flow was measured by means of single photon emission computed tomography of the brain. Twenty‐nine patients showed echocardiographic criteria of LVH; 11 patients did not show this feature. No differences were found in regional cerebral blood flow ratio of all brain areas studied between hypertensives with or without LVH except for the striatum area. The regional cerebral blood flow ratio was significantly reduced in the striatum region of hypertensive patients with LVH, compared with patients without LVH (91.5±7.4 vs 98.1±8.3; P= .023). This relationship remained significant after adjusting for blood pressure. The authors conclude that the presence of LVH in middle‐aged patients with essential hypertension is associated with a reduction of regional cerebral blood flow in the striatum area.