SYSTEMIC ARTERIAL STIFFNESS AND LEFT VENTRICULAR FUNCTION IN PATIENTS WITH SYSTEMIC HYPERTENSION VS PULMONARY HYPERTENSION

Objective: In some studies, it was demonstrated the increased arterial stiffness in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and in systemic hypertensive (SH) patients. In our previous reports we found the cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) correlated with functional state and prognosis in PAH patients. We proposed it could be realized through the worsening of left ventricle (LV) function, as it was reported for systemic hypertensive patients.Design and method: We included 37 patients with idiopathic PAH, 30 with new-diagnosed essential SH and 20 healthy people. All patients were assessed: vital signs, 6-minute walk test (6MWT), NT-proBNP level, the CAVI, the right ventricular (RV) and LV function parameters by echocardiography (ejection time (ET), e/e’, global longitudinal strain (GLS), EF). Results: The groups were matched by age, gender, BMI. The blood pressure was higher in SH group (163±5.7/96.3±4.8 mmHg) vs PAH (103.2±6.8/72.1±5.5 mmHg) and control group (111.1±6.3/71.6±4.6 mmHg). Other significant parameters are present in table. No any differences in other parameters. Both PAH and SH patients had worse LV systolic (GLS and ET) and diastolic (e/e’ ratio) function and arterial stiffness (CAVI) compared to control group. PAH patients had significant impaired RV function (RV GLS). The CAVI in PAH group correlated with age (beta= 0.083±0.023, CI 0.033-0.133) and RV ET (beta=- 0.018±0.005, CI-0.029- -0.008), but not with LV function. Conclusions: In idiopathic PAH patients the increased arterial stiffness evaluated by CAVI was not associated with LV dysfunction, but with RV ET and age only.