Association Between Left Ventricular Mechanics and Heart Rate Variability in Untreated Hypertensive Patients

The authors sought to investigate left ventricular (LV) mechanics and heart rate variability (HRV), and their relationship, in untreated hypertensive patients. A total of 63 untreated hypertensive patients and 45 healthy patients were included. All patients underwent 24-hour Holter monitoring and echocardiographic examination (two- and three-dimensional). All parameters of time and frequency domain of HRV were decreased in the hypertensive patients. Two-dimensional LV longitudinal and circumferential deformation was significantly reduced in hypertensive patients. Three-dimensional LV strain in all three directions as well as area strain were reduced in the hypertensive group. In two different models of multivariate regression, two-dimensional LV longitudinal and circumferential strain, as well as three-dimensional LV area strain, remained associated with HRV parameters independently of LV structural and functional parameters. This study showed that LV mechanics and HRV were significantly impaired in untreated hypertensive patients. Two- and three-dimensional echocardiographic LV deformation were independently associated with HRV parameters in the whole study population.