Antihypertensive therapy prevents new-onset atrial fibrillation in patients with isolated systolic hypertension: the LIFE study.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with increased cardiovascular risk and the incidence increases with age, hypertension and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). Reducing in-treatment systolic blood pressure (SBP) prevents new-onset AF but has previously not been studied in patients with isolated systolic hypertension (ISH). We aimed to investigate the effect on preventing new-onset AF by decreased in-treatment SBP in patients with ISH compared to patients with non-ISH.

Association of left bundle branch block with new onset abnormal wall motion in treated hypertensive patients with left ventricle hypertrophy: the LIFE Echo Sub-study.

Aims: We aimed to investigate whether left bundle branch block (LBBB) is related to new-onset left ventricle (LV) wall motion abnormalities during treatment in hypertensive patients with electrocardiographic (ECG) defined left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH).

Methods And Results: 960 patients with essential hypertension and ECG-LVH participating in the LIFE Echo Sub-study were investigated at baseline and annually with echocardiography, during randomized antihypertensive therapy. After excluding patients with LV wall motion abnormalities at baseline and patients developing new-onset LBBB during study time, we investigated 784 patients.