Myocardial fibrosis in young men with arterial hypertension
Aim. To evaluate myocardial fibrosis in young men with differ- en levels of BP.Material and methods. 215 men (18-25 years, mean21.1±0.1) with history of elevated casual BP were enrolled inour study. BP phenotype (normotension, stable arterial hyper-tension [AH], unstable AH) was determined on the basis ofmultiple measurements of clinical BP and 24 hour BP monitor-ing. Myocardial fibrosis was assessed by pixel density distrib-ution range (PDDR) with the use of analysis of reflectedsignal.Results. PDDR was increased significantly (p<0.001) inpatients with stable AH (181.4±2.2) compared to patientswith normotension (164.6±4.6) and unstable AH (160.1±2.7).PDDR independently correlated with body mass index(r=0.17; p=0.03), duration of AH (r=0.17; p=0.03) and isovo-lumic relaxation time (r= 0.15; p=0.04).Conclusion. In young men left ventricular remodeling canbe detected at the stage of unstable AH. In stable AH degreeof myocardial fibrosis was associated with higher BP, concen-tric left ventricular geometry, abnormal diastolic function.