The effect of age on the relationship of pulse pressure and left ventricular mass in untreated patients with mild to moderate hypertension

Aim: To study the relationship between left ventricular mass (LMV) and pulse pressure (PP) in mild to moderate hypertensive patients according to age and gender. Design and Methods: Two hundred and eleven patients aged 18-65 years, 56% males, with untreated mild to moderate hypertension, were included. A 24-h ambulatory blood pressure (BP) profile was recorded in 204 patients. In 174 of them, an echocardiogram of good quality was obtained. PP was defined as the difference between systolic and diastolic BP. Results: Statistically significant differences were observed in office and ambulatory PP according to the age, with a greater PP among hypertensive subjects younger than 30. Globally, there was a significant correlation between LVM and PP, either with clinical PP (r = 0. 17, p = 0.024) or with ambulatory PP (24-h PP: r = 0.18, p = 0.016). When stratifying by age group, the stronger correlations were observed in patients younger than 30. When stratifying, by gender, previous results were applicable to men, but, in women, no correlation was observed between PP and LVM in either age group. Conclusions: an increased PP was observed in hypertensive patients younger than 30 in comparison with middle-aged hypertensive patients. The correlation between LVM and PP was stronger in younger male hypertensive patients, but not in female.