Left Ventricular Hypertrophy Is Associated with Diastolic Filling Alterations in Normotensive Offspring of Hypertensive Nigerians

Contribution of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction to adverse events in patients with cardiovascular diseases is increasingly being recognized and individuals with pedigree for hypertension are thought to exhibit anatomic and or functional changes in their left ventricle before they become hypertensive. This study aimed at characterizing left ventricular diastolic function in normotensive offspring of hypertensive Nigerians. Sixty-five offspring of hypertensive parents aged 15–25 years (subjects) with 65-age and sex-matched offspring of normotensive parents (controls) were studied for early makers of hypertensive cardiovascular disease using Doppler echocardiogram. Mean mitral E velocity was reduced (P = 0.01) in the subjects (73.3 ± 12.6 cm/s) compared with the controls (80.2 ± 22.5 cm/s). Similarly, mean S velocity of pulmonary venous flow was lower (P = 0.01) in the subjects than in the controls. Left atrial dimension and mitral E/A ratio in the subjects with left ventricular hypertrophy were higher (P = 0.002, 0.004 respectively) than in the subjects without this abnormality. We concluded that normotensive offspring of hypertensive Nigerians showed early alterations in indexes of left ventricular diastolic filling and these abnormalities were exaggerated in the presence of left ventricular hypertrophy.