Patterns of left ventricular adaptation in borderline and mild essential hypertension. Echocardiographic findings.

To assess patterns of left ventricular adaptation, 38 patients with borderline and 38 with sustained mild essential hypertension, all lacking electrocardiographic and roentgenographic criteria for left ventricular hypertrophy, were compared using systemic hemodynamic values and M-mode echocardiograms. All patients had normal left ventricular function and measurements of wall thickness. Those with borderline hypertension showed no asymmetric increase in the ratio of septal to posterior wall thickness. The ratio of the left ventricular radius to wall thickness remained normal in both groups, indicating no disproportionate hypertrophy or dilatation of chambers during the phase of normal left ventricular function. Neither finding substantiates asymmetric septal hypertrophy in early hypertension. Those with mild essential hypertension demonstrated an augmented mean circumferential fiber shortening rate compared to those with borderline hypertension (P less than 0.005), suggesting an early stage of left ventricular hyperfunction in the development and elaboration of hypertensive heart disease.