Knowra Hypertensive heart disease Hypertensive heart disease Hypertensive heart disease comprises structural and functional heart changes caused by persistent high blood pressure, including left ventricular hypertrophy, heart failure, and coronary disease.
Left ventricular hypertrophy : Thickening of the left ventricle’s muscular wall, often caused by chronic pressure overload. It is a characteristic early structural response to the elevated workload imposed by hypertension.
Echocardiography : Ultrasound imaging of the heart used to assess its structure and function. It can reveal ventricular thickening, chamber changes, and impaired filling.
Atrial fibrillation : An irregular, often rapid heart rhythm arising from disorganized electrical activity in the atria. Pressure-related enlargement and stiffness can promote the atrial changes that favor this arrhythmia.
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy : An inherited heart muscle disease marked by otherwise unexplained ventricular thickening. Both conditions can thicken the left ventricle, but their causes and clinical evaluation differ.
Cardiac remodeling : Changes in the heart’s size, shape, tissue composition, or function after sustained stress or injury. It describes the broader structural process that links pressure overload to later dysfunction.
Electrocardiography : A recording of the heart’s electrical activity from electrodes placed on the body. It can suggest left ventricular hypertrophy, though a normal tracing does not exclude it.
Ventricular arrhythmia : An abnormal heart rhythm that originates in the ventricles. Hypertrophy and myocardial scarring can create conditions for dangerous ventricular rhythms.
Aortic stenosis : Narrowing of the aortic valve that obstructs blood leaving the left ventricle. It also creates pressure overload and ventricular thickening, but the obstruction is valvular.
Diastolic dysfunction : Impaired relaxation or filling of the ventricles during diastole. A thickened, stiff left ventricle may fill poorly even while its pumping fraction remains preserved.
Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring : Repeated blood pressure measurement over day and night using a portable monitor. It helps establish whether blood pressure remains elevated outside the clinic.
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