RESEARCH ARTICLE
Predictors of Impaired Left Ventricular Global Longitudinal Strain in Patients with Essential Hypertension and Preserved Ejection Fraction
Ahmed A. Noori1, *, Mudhafar A. Barzani2
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2022Volume: 16
E-location ID: e187419242212020
Publisher ID: e187419242212020
DOI: 10.2174/18741924-v16-e221202-2022-8
Article History:
Received Date: 14/6/2022Revision Received Date: 29/9/2022
Acceptance Date: 20/10/2022
Electronic publication date: 30/12/2022
Collection year: 2022
open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Background:
Early identification of hypertensive patients at risk of heart failure (HF) helps guide treatment intensification and predict prognosis. Global longitudinal strain (GLS) derived from two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography (STE) uncovers subclinical left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction (SLVSD) in patients with hypertension (HT) and preserved LV ejection fraction (PLVEF). STE is unavailable and/or underutilized in our locality for financial and technical reasons.
Objectives:
We aim to identify clinical and echocardiographic parameters associated with and/or predictive of impaired GLS in hypertensive patients with PLVEF.
Method:
In this single-clinic, cross-sectional, observational study, 100 hypertensive patients with PLVEF were examined using conventional and 2D STE.
Results:
The average GLS was found to be mildly reduced (-18.4 ± 2.2%) in the study group. Lower GLS (than -19%) was more common among patients with poorly controlled HT (Odds Ratio (OR)=9), being on multiple anti-hypertensive agents (OR=5), positive Sokolow-Lyon electrocardiographic criteria (OR=4.3), and obesity (OR=2). Conventional echocardiographic parameters predicting impaired GLS included: mitral annular plane systolic excursion (MAPSE) (p=0.001), inter-ventricular septal thickness (IVSd) (p=0.003), LV mass (p=0.003), and LV remodelling (p=0.02). The aortic acceleration-to-ejection time ratio (AT/ET) had a good correlation with GLS (p=0.034). The novel product (IVSd x AT/ET) ≥2.7 mm was found to be the best predictor of GLS worse than -19% (AU ROC=0.8, 95% CI [0.68-0.93]; p=0.001).
Conclusion:
In hypertensive patients with PLVEF, GLS was found to correlate well with blood pressure (BP) control, body size, measures of LV mass, and MAPSE. These parameters predict at least 50% of the variance in GLS and could help practitioners with limited access to STE in risk-stratifying hypertensive patients.
