Disparity Between Diastolic Mitral Flow Characteristics and Left Ventricular Mass in Essential Hypertension

: Because left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy and aging have been associated with abnormal LV relaxation, this study evaluated the impact of LV mass on the filling patterns derived by Doppler in a large population aged > or =50 years. Results suggest that in essential hypertension the intrinsic myocardial composition is more important than cardiac hypertrophy in determining LV diastolic properties. This apparent discrepancy between LV mass and diastolic filling patterns highlights the difficulty in establishing the diagnosis of diastolic dysfunction in elderly hypertensives.