What is hypertensive heart disease?

Hypertension remains a major public health problem associated with considerable morbidity and mortality. It’s the leading cause of death from high blood pressure. Hypertensive heart disease encompasses anatomical changes and altered physiology of heart muscle, coronary arteries, and great vessels.

Hypertensive heart disease refers to a constellation of changes in the left ventricle, left atrium and coronary arteries as a result of chronic blood pressure elevation. It’s a group of medical problems ― like heart failure and conduction arrhythmias ― that can happen when the person doesn’t control his high blood pressure (hypertension).

Essential hypertension accounts for 90% of cases of hypertension in adults. Secondary causes of hypertension account for the remaining 10% of cases of chronically elevated BP.

Hypertension increases the workload on the heart inducing structural and functional changes in the myocardium. These changes include hypertrophy of the left ventricle, which can progress to heart failure.

Clinically, hypertensive heart disease is characterized by the presence of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in the absence of a cause other than arterial hypertension.

The main risk factor for hypertensive heart disease is high blood pressure. The risk increases if the person overweight, not exercise enough, smoking, eating food high in fat and cholesterol. Chronic high blood pressure (higher than 120/80 mmHg) causes hypertensive heart disease. As people get older and continue to have high blood pressure, their risk of heart disease increases.

Hypertensive heart disease can cause serious health problems. Hypertensive heart disease can lead to either diastolic heart failure, systolic failure or a combination of the two. Such patients are at a higher risk for developing acute complications such as decompensated heart failure, acute coronary syndrome or sudden cardiac death.

The types of hypertensive heart disease include:
*Narrowing of the arteries
*Thickening and enlargement of the heart
What is hypertensive heart disease?

What is hypertensive heart disease?

Hypertension can lead to hypertensive heart disease, which is a condition that represents an important underlying mechanism for the occurrence of blood pressure-related CVD morbidity and mortality.

Hypertensive heart disease encompasses anatomical changes and altered physiology of heart muscle, coronary arteries, and great vessels.

Hypertensive heart disease is a constellation of abnormalities that includes left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), systolic and diastolic dysfunction, and their clinical manifestations including arrhythmias and symptomatic heart failure.

Hypertensive heart disease results from chronic high blood pressure. Hypertension can be defined as blood pressure as a systolic blood pressure higher than 120 mm Hg or a diastolic pressure more than 80mm Hg. The risk of cardiovascular mortality doubles for every 20mmHg systolic and 10mmHg diastolic pressure increase over a baseline blood pressure of 115/75.

Clinically, hypertensive heart disease is characterized by the presence of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in the absence of a cause other than arterial hypertension.

Hypertensive individuals with hypertensive heart disease are more prone to myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, stroke, and sudden death then persons with hypertension alone.

The main risk factor for hypertensive heart disease is high blood pressure. The risk increases if the person overweight, not exercise enough, smoking, eating food high in fat and cholesterol.

Types of hypertensive heart disease:
*Narrowing of the arteries
*Thickening and enlargement of the heart
What is hypertensive heart disease?

Hypertensive heart disease

Hypertension is a powerful predictor of cardiovascular mortality and death from all causes. It is a major risk factor for the development of systolic heart failure as well as heart failure in the setting of preserved left ventricular function.

Hypertensive heart disease can be defined as the response of the heart to the afterload imposed on the left ventricle by the progressively increasing arterial pressure and total peripheral resistance.

Severe hypertension may directly damage arterioles and cause atherosclerosis. High blood pressure is also a risk for stroke.

The risk of cardiovascular events is increased two or three times in men and women with hypertension. It is estimated that 14% deaths from coronary heart disease in men and 12% of deaths from coronary heart disease in women are due to hypertension.

Hypertensive heart disease is characterized by increased left ventricular mass leading to left ventricular hypertrophy in the absence of aortic stenosis or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Other manifestations include diastolic dysfunction and microvascular changes that cause coronary blood flow abnormalities.

Left ventricular hypertrophy increases the rletaove risk for amrtlaity by twofold in subjects with coronary artery disease and by four fold in those with normal epicardial coronary arteries.

In the development of hypertensive heart disease, myocyte hypertrophy is also associated with apoptosis, collagen deposition, a ventricular fibrosis, with as impairment of coronary hemodynamics as well, thus profoundly influencing functional properties of the left ventricle.
Hypertensive heart disease