Association between Morning Surge and Left Ventricular Hypertrophy in Obese Hypertensive Patients.

Background: Weight gain can trigger mechanisms that increase blood pressure. Nevertheless, obesity causes structural changes in the myocardium, including increased ventricular mass, atrial dilatation, and diastolic and systolic dysfunction. Additionally, blood pressure variations, like morning surge (MS) in obese hypertensive patients may have clinical relevance in cardiovascular events.

Performance of the Electrocardiogram in the Diagnosis of Left Ventricular Hypertrophy in Older and Very Older Hypertensive Patients.

Background: Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is an important cardiovascular risk factor, regardless of arterial hypertension. Despite the evolution of imaging tests, the electrocardiogram (ECG) is still the most used in the initial evaluation, however, with low sensitivity.

Objective: To evaluate the performance of the main electrocardiographic criteria for LVH in elderly and very elderly hypertensive individuals.