Regulation and role of myocardial collagen matrix remodeling in hypertensive heart disease.

In hypertensive heart disease, reactive myocardial fibrosis represents as an excessive accumulation of fibrillar collagen within the normal connective tissue structures of the myocardium. The fact, that the myocardium of both ventricles is involved, irrespective of ventricular loading conditions, suggests that circulating factors, and not the hemodynamic load are primary responsible for this adverse response of the myocardial fibrous tissue. In various experimental in vivo models, it has been shown that myocardial fibrosis is always associated with activation of circulating or local renin-angiotensin-aldosterone systems (RAAS).