Pharmacotherapy for hypertension-induced left ventricular hypertrophy.

Background: Hypertension is the leading preventable risk factor for cardiovascular disease and premature death worldwide. One of the clinical effects of hypertension is left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), a process of cardiac remodelling. It is estimated that over 30% of people with hypertension also suffer from LVH, although the prevalence rates vary according to the LVH diagnostic criteria.

Genetic variations of beta-MYH7 in Venezuelan patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a cardiac disease, characterized by marked hypertrophy and genetic variability. HCM has been associated with sarcomere protein mutations, being cardiac beta-myosin (coded by the MYH7 gene) and myosin binding protein C (coded by the MYBPC3 gene) the most frequently affected proteins. As in Venezuela only the clinical analysis are performed in HCM patients, we decided to search for genetic variations in the MYH7 gene.