Insulin effects on the left ventricle in older hypertensive subjects.

Background: To evaluate the effects of hyperinsulinemia on left ventricular (LV) structure and function in older hypertensive subjects

Methods: Thirty-seven hypertensive subjects (17 men/20 women) aged 50 to 80, were studied. LV mass were evaluated echocardiographically according to the Penn convention. A 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was performed after overnight fasting, and both blood glucose and insulin concentrations were assayed at 0, 30, 60, 90, 120, and 180 minutes.

Sex differences in correlates of steady state and pulsatile component of blood pressure.

1. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether metabolic factors are linked to the steady component and the pulsatile component of blood pressure, evaluated as mean arterial pressure and pulse pressure respectively, in a sex-specific manner. 2.

Is blood pressure the major determinant of left ventricular mass in subjects over 50 years of age?

The weak relation of systolic blood pressure to left ventricular (LV) mass in hypertension has frequently been regarded as evidence of non-hemodynamic stimuli to muscle growth. Anyway, left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is associated with a significantly increased risk for cardiovascular events. Data were obtained from M-mode echocardiograms in 10 normotensives and 58 hypertensives over 50 years (range 50-85 years); 18 hypertensives; were without (LVH -) and 40 were with LVH (LVH +) - when LV mass, normalized for body surface area, was calculated according to the Penn's Convention.

Platelet size and left ventricular hypertrophy in hypertensive patients over 50 years of age.

Both mean platelet volume (MPV) and left ventricular hypertrophy have been described as associated with increased risk for vascular events. Seventy-six hypertensive patients (37 M and 39 F) over 50 years of age were studied. They were divided into subgroups according to the presence of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH = LV mass index > 125 g m-2, when LV mass was assessed by M-mode echocardiography according to Penn's Convention).

Pulsatile versus steady-state component of blood pressure in elderly females: an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease?

Objective: To evaluate whether the pulsatile component of blood pressure can be a risk factor independent of the steady component in elderly females.

Design: Fifty-two elderly hypertensive female patients were compared with 32 normotensive control subjects of the same age. According to the results of that first study, a cohort of 126 elderly females was studied over a 3-year period to evaluate whether the pulsatile and steady-state components of blood pressure correlated with the same parameters and could predict the occurrence of cardiovascular events.