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Association between a deletion polymorphism of the angiotensin-converting-enzyme gene and left ventricular hypertrophy.

BACKGROUND: Epidemiologic studies have shown that left ventricular hypertrophy is often found in the absence of an elevated cardiac workload. To investigate whether such hypertrophy is determined in part by genetic factors, we studied the association between this condition, as assessed by electrocardiographic criteria, and a deletion (D)-insertion (I) polymorphism of the angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE) gene. METHODS: A population-based random sample of 711 women and 717 men 45 to 59 years of age was studied cross-sectionally in Augsburg, Germany. Electrocardiographic indexes, including the Sokolow-Lyon index, Minnesota Code 3.1, and the Rautaharju equations, were used to detect left ventricular hypertrophy. The status of the ACE gene with respect to the deletion-insertion allele was determined by the polymerase chain reaction in all subjects with left ventricular hypertrophy and an identical number of control subjects without the condition who were matched for age, sex, and blood-pressure status. RESULTS: We identified 141 women and 149 men with evidence of left ventricular hypertrophy. Among these subjects, an excess were homozygous for the D allele of the ACE gene (odds ratio, 1.76; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.22 to 2.53; P = 0.003). The association of the DD genotype with left ventricular hypertrophy was stronger in men (odds ratio, 2.63; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.50 to 4.64; P < 0.001) than in women and was most prominent when blood-pressure measurements were normal (odds ratio, 4.05; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.76 to 9.28; P = 0.001). This association was evident for each of the scores recorded in the electrocardiographic testing for left ventricular hypertrophy. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that left ventricular hypertrophy is partially determined by genetic disposition. They identify the DD genotype of ACE as a potential genetic marker associated with an elevated risk of left ventricular hypertrophy in middle-aged men.

Aged↗

Effects of contraction-excitation feedback on electrophysiology and arrhythmogenesis in rabbits with experimental left ventricular hypertrophy.

OBJECTIVE: The aim was to investigate the influence of contraction-excitation feedback on myocardial electrophysiology and arrhythmia susceptibility in the setting of experimental left ventricular hypertrophy. METHODS: New Zealand White rabbits with perinephritis hypertension were used. With the hearts perfused in vitro, left ventricular monophasic action potential duration and local effective refractory periods were determined at three sites, namely the anterior, apical, and posterior wall, together with ventricular tachycardia inducibility and ventricular fibrillation threshold under different loading conditions. RESULTS: The left ventricular dry weight to body weight ratio was increased by 31% in the hypertrophied group (3.863 x 10(-4), v 2.955 x 10(-4) in the controls). Left ventricular hypertrophy was associated with prolongation of action potential duration when the left ventricle was not loaded and under normal loading conditions. Changing from unloaded Langendorff to baseline working heart perfusion resulted in a consistent decrease in action potential duration and effective refractory period at all left ventricular sites in both hypertrophied and control hearts. Subsequent manipulations of myocardial loading resulted in decreases in action potential duration and effective refractory period in both groups of hearts. Ventricular tachycardia could not be induced in any heart in Langendorff mode. Under different increased loading conditions, a total of four hypertrophied hearts (44%) became inducible, while control hearts remained non-inducible. The ventricular fibrillation threshold under conditions of increased load tended to be lower in the hypertrophied hearts than the control hearts; in the setting of increased preload the hypertrophied group showed significantly increased vulnerability to ventricular fibrillation (median threshold currents 35 mA v > 100 mA, p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Left ventricular hypertrophy is associated with a prolongation of action potential duration and effective refractory period and an increased arrhythmia susceptibility in the setting of increased myocardial loading. There were no marked differences between the groups in the magnitude of the changes in action potential duration, effective refractory period, or dispersion of repolarisation and refractoriness resulting from manipulations of myocardial loading that could have been implicated in the increased arrhythmia susceptibility of the hypertrophied hearts during changes in load.

Action Potentials↗

Effect of ammonium chloride and dietary phosphorus in the azotaemic rat. Part II--Kidney hypertrophy and calcium deposition.

BACKGROUND: Kidney hypertrophy is stimulated by both partial nephrectomy and NH(4)Cl administration. Also, parathyroidectomy (PTX) has been reported to prevent kidney hypertrophy induced by a high protein diet. Our goal was to determine in the azotaemic rat: (i) the combined effects of NH(4)Cl administration and dietary phosphorus on the development of kidney hypertrophy and calcium deposition in the kidney and (ii) whether the absence of parathyroid hormone (PTH) affected the development of kidney hypertrophy and calcium deposition. METHODS: High (HPD, 1.2%), normal (NPD, 0.6%) or low (LPD, <0.05%) phosphorus diets were given to 5/6 nephrectomized rats for 30 days. In each dietary group, one-half of the rats were given NH(4)Cl in the drinking water. The six groups of rats were: (i) HPD + NH(4)Cl; (ii) HPD; (iii) NPD + NH(4)Cl; (iv) NPD; (v) LPD + NH(4)Cl and (vi) LPD. In a separate study, PTX was performed to determine whether PTH affected renal hypertrophy in 5/6 nephrectomized rats given NH(4)Cl. RESULTS: Both with and without NH(4)Cl (+/-NH(4)Cl), kidney weight was greatest (P<0.05) in the HPD groups. In each dietary phosphorus group, kidney weight was greater (P<0.05) in the NH(4)Cl group. In both the +/-NH(4)Cl groups, kidney calcium content was greatest (P<0.05) in the HPD group, but was less (P<0.05) in the NPD and HPD groups given NH(4)Cl. An inverse correlation was present between creatinine clearance and kidney calcium content (r = -0.51, P<0.001). When factored for kidney weight, creatinine clearance was less (P<0.05) in the HPD group in both the +/-NH(4)Cl groups, but was greater in the HPD + NH(4)Cl than in the HPD group. In PTX rats, kidney weight was greater (P<0.05) and kidney calcium deposition was less (P<0.05) in rats given NH(4)Cl. CONCLUSIONS: In azotaemic rats studied for 30 days, NH(4)Cl administration induced kidney hypertrophy. A HPD also induced kidney hypertrophy. The effects on kidney calcium deposition were divergent for which NH(4)Cl administration decreased and a HPD increased calcium deposition. The inverse correlation between kidney calcium content and creatinine clearance suggests that kidney calcium deposition is harmful to renal function. When factored for kidney weight, the lower creatinine clearance in the high phosphorus group suggests that kidney hypertrophy does not completely compensate for the harmful effects of a HPD. This result also suggests that a longer study would probably result in more rapid deterioration in the high phosphorus group. In PTX rats, the absence of PTH did not prevent NH(4)Cl from inducing kidney hypertrophy and reducing kidney calcium deposition. In conclusion, NH(4)Cl and dietary phosphorus each independently affect kidney growth and calcium deposition in the growing rat with renal failure.

Ammonium Chloride↗

Denervation hypertrophy of muscle: MR features.

OBJECTIVE: Denervation hypertrophy is an entity well recognized in the neurology literature, but with little mention in the radiology literature. Denervation hypertrophy occurs when a muscle paradoxically enlarges rather than atrophies in response to loss of innervation. The purpose of this report is to describe the MR appearance of true hypertrophy and pseudohypertrophy of muscle following denervation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The clinical data and MRI findings in three patients with muscle enlargement due to denervation hypertrophy are reviewed retrospectively. Two women and one man aged 19-80 years were included. Denervation resulted from spinal stenosis in one patient, a herniated thoracic disc in another, and spina bifida with a tethered cord in the third. RESULTS: True hypertrophy of a single muscle was seen in one patient and pseudohypertrophy of two muscles was present in one patient. One patient had one muscle with true hypertrophy and one muscle with pseudohypertrophy. Electromyographic examination was performed and was consistent with denervation in two patients. Biopsy confirmation of denervation was obtained in two patients. All five abnormal muscles exhibited increased volume, well defined margins, and normal contour. In true hypertrophy the enlarged muscle was isointense with normal muscle on all MRI sequences. In pseudohypertrophy the MRI appearance was consistent with an excessive amount of fat interspersed throughout normal muscle. CONCLUSION: Magnetic resonance in these cases established muscle hypertrophy rather than neoplasm as the cause of a palpable mass. If muscle hypertrophy or pseudohypertrophy is seen on an MR examination of an enlarged extremity, the possibility of an underlying neurologic process should be considered.

Adult↗

Sudden cardiac death, ventricular arrhythmias and hypertensive left ventricular hypertrophy.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the relationship between sudden cardiac death, ventricular arrhythmias and left ventricular hypertrophy in patients with hypertension. DATA IDENTIFICATION: Epidemiological studies assessing the importance of left ventricular hypertrophy as a risk factor for sudden cardiac death, studies assessing the prevalence of arrhythmias in left ventricular hypertrophy and studies assessing whether there is an electrophysiological substrate in the hypertrophied myocardium for ventricular dysrhythmias. RESULTS OF DATA ANALYSIS: Current evidence indicates that left ventricular hypertrophy is a risk factor for sudden cardiac death and that ventricular arrhythmias are more prevalent in hypertensive patients with than in those without left ventricular hypertrophy. However, there is a lack of evidence that these dysrhythmias are important as an underlying mechanism for sudden cardiac death, and there is no clear evidence that the hypertrophied myocardium is, itself, an arrhythmogenic substrate for malignant ventricular dysrhythmias. One possible mechanism for sudden cardiac death is myocardial ischaemia, either as a consequence of associated coronary disease or due to left ventricular hypertrophy, but this remains unproved. CONCLUSIONS: There is currently no evidence that the ventricular ectopic activity seen in patients with hypertensive left ventricular hypertrophy is a marker for sudden cardiac death. Clarification of the mechanisms involved in sudden cardiac death will help in selecting appropriate preventive and therapeutic strategies for these patients.

Animals↗

A heart-specific increase in cardiotrophin-1 gene expression precedes the establishment of ventricular hypertrophy in genetically hypertensive rats.

OBJECTIVE: Cardiotrophin-1 is a cytokine, a novel member of the interleukin-6 superfamily, which is isolated from mouse embryoid bodies. It is known to bind a gp130/ leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) receptor heterodimer and to induce myocyte hypertrophy. Accumulating evidence indicates that a gp130 signaling pathway is involved in cardiac development and ventricular hypertrophy. METHODS: In order to elucidate the pathophysiologic significance of cardiotrophin-1 in ventricular hypertrophy associated with hypertension, we examined the level of cardiotrophin-1 mRNA in the ventricle of spontaneously hypertensive rats/Izm stroke-prone (SHRSP/Izm) in neonates, and at 4-, 12- and 20-weeks of age by Northern blot analysis. We also examined the gene expression of LIF by Northern blot and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analyses. RESULTS: No significant difference was observed in the level of cardiotrophin-1 mRNA in the ventricle between SHRSP/ Izm and Wistar-Kyoto/Izm (WKY/Izm) neonates. However, the level of cardiotrophin-1 mRNA in the ventricle was significantly augmented in 4-week-old SHRSP/Izm, which did not yet show overt ventricular hypertrophy, and its augmented expression lasted for the duration of the experimental period. The difference in the level of cardiotrophin-1 mRNA between the two strains was most prominent at the age of 4 weeks. This augmented expression of the cardiotrophin-1 gene was not related to the severity of left ventricular hypertrophy. The level of cardiotrophin-1 mRNA in other organs, including the kidney and lung, showed no significant change with aging and was not different between the two strains. After long-term treatment with lisinopril, levels of cardiotrophin-1 mRNA were not changed, although it morphologically prevented the development of left ventricular hypertrophy. LIF mRNA was not detected in any ventricles examined by Northern blot analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The present study demonstrates that the expression of cardiotrophin-1 mRNA is increased in the early stage of ventricular hypertrophy in SHRSP/Izm and it remains elevated after hypertrophy has been established. However, it is unlikely that cardiotrophin-1 plays a mechanistic role in the development and maintenance of left ventricular hypertrophy in SHRSP/Izm. The present study also suggests that cardiotrophin-1, but not LIF, is a possible candidate for natural ligand of a gp130 signaling pathway in the heart.

Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors↗

Soluble cell adhesion molecules in hypertensive concentric left ventricular hypertrophy.

OBJECTIVE: Concentric left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy is an important cardiovascular risk factor. We investigated whether concentric LV hypertrophy is associated with activation of the vascular endothelium, as assessed by measurements of soluble cell adhesion molecules. DESIGN: E-selectin, intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), and vascular adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) were measured in serum from hypertensive patients with LV hypertrophy (64 with concentric and 47 with eccentric hypertrophy) and from two matched control groups consisting of 38 hypertensive patients without LV hypertrophy and 38 normotensive subjects. Carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT) was examined by ultrasonography and LV mass by echocardiography. Neurohormone activities of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system were also measured. RESULTS: E-selectin levels were higher in hypertensive than in normotensive subjects (56 +/- 19 versus 49 +/- 11 ng/ml, P = 0.031). Patients with concentric LV hypertrophy had higher levels of E-selectin (61 +/- 21 versus 49 +/- 15 ng/ml, P < 0.001), ICAM-1 (273 +/- 49 versus 254 +/- 49 ng/ml, P = 0.043), VCAM-1 (591 +/- 131 versus 544 +/- 78 ng/ml, P = 0.038) and greater carotid artery IMT (0.99 +/- 0.26 versus 0.83 +/- 0.15 mm, P = 0.018) than eccentric LV hypertrophy patients. E-selectin and VCAM-1 correlated positively to LV relative wall thickness (P = 0.040 and 0.037, respectively), with a similar trend for ICAM-1 (P = 0.083). E-selectin correlated with serum aldosterone (P < 0.001), and E-selectin and ICAM-1 with plasma angiotensin converting enzyme activity (P = 0.003 and 0.036, respectively). CONCLUSION: Increased levels of soluble cell adhesion molecules and an increased carotid artery IMT characterize concentric LV hypertrophy. This indicates perturbations at the vascular level, involving activation of the vascular endothelium in hypertensive patients with concentric LV hypertrophy.

Adult↗

Reduction by oral propranolol treatment of left ventricular hypertrophy secondary to pressure-overload in the rat.

1. Studies on cardiac myocyte cell cultures have postulated a role for alpha 1-adrenoceptors and mechanical stretch in the induction of cellular changes thought to be important in compensatory cardiac hypertrophy. However, in vivo work suggests that beta-adrenoceptors are important and the present study was designed to analyse the effect of propranolol on the cardiac hypertrophy caused by a pressure-overload in a way that takes account of the effects of propranolol on the work load itself. 2. The compensatory cardiac hypertrophy that develops in response to experimental coarctation of the aorta was studied in the rat. Pressure gradients and total cardiac work load (expressed as rate x pressure product) were assessed, and the relationship between increasing cardiac work load and the resulting left ventricular hypertrophy was established in a control group and compared with left ventricular hypertrophy in a group treated with a high dose of oral propranolol (80 mg kg-1 body weight). 3. In the rats with mean pressure gradients over the coarctation in the range of 15-31 mmHg, the animals on control diet showed a 38% increase in left ventricular weight/body weight ratio (LV ratio) and a 30% increase in heart weight/body weight ratio (heart ratio), whereas rats given high dose oral propranolol-treatment showed increases of only 13% and 9%, respectively. 4. In a second series of rats with a wider range of pressure gradients, the regression lines of LV ratio versus mean pressure gradient, and of LV ratio versus cardiac work, were different in the two groups with a slope that was only half as steep in the propranolol-treated rats as in the controls. Thus, for the same increment in cardiac work load, the degree of compensatory cardiac hypertrophy in propranolol-treated rats was half that observed in controls. 5. The reduction in compensatory cardiac hypertrophy was not associated with an increase in incidence of congestive heart failure and the propranolol-treated rats were able to sustain equally high (or higher) degrees of pressure over-load as controls did. 6. It is concluded that propranolol treatment approximately halves the compensatory cardiac hypertrophy occurring in response to a left ventricular pressure over-load by a mechanism independent of its effect on cardiac work load. This finding provides further support for the view that noradrenaline released from sympathetic nerve terminals in the heart exerts a trophic effect on cardiac myocytes, and that the sympathetic nervous system may be the final common pathway in many forms of compensatory cardiac hypertrophy. In contrast to in vitro models, this effect appears to be largely mediated via beta-adrenoceptors in the intact animal.

Administration, Oral↗

Heterogeneity of hypertrophy in feline hypertrophic heart disease.

Eighty-six cats with non-dilated left ventricular myocardial hypertrophy were studied retrospectively. Cats were categorized by two-dimensional echocardiography as having symmetric ventricular hypertrophy (Type I), asymmetric with predominant septal thickening hypertrophy (Type II), and asymmetric hypertrophy with predominant free-wall thickening (Type III). The distribution of hypertrophy was judged subjectively and objectively. Subjective and objective results were similar (P = 0.03) although overlap existed between groups. Morphologic patterns (Types I, II, and III) were compared with breed, age, sex, heart rate, percent fractional shortening, left atrial size, serum creatinine concentration, and the presence (yes/no) of pleural effusion, pulmonary edema, pericardial effusion, heart murmur, dyspnea, thromboembolism, hyperthyroidism, and being alive at the time of study. Interventricular septal thickness, left ventricular free wall thickness, percent fractional shortening, and left atrial size additionally were compared to 3-month survival. Cats with Type III hypertrophy were more likely to experience thromboembolism than cats with Type II hypertrophy (P = 0.05) and cats with Type I hypertrophy were more likely to have heart murmurs than cats with Type III (P = 0.02). No other significant associations were found in comparison to pattern of hypertrophy. Both left atrial size and percent fractional shortening significantly correlated with 3-month survival (P < 0.001 for each). The degree of interventricular septal wall thickness was associated with 3-month survival (P = 0.02) when known hyperthyroid cats were excluded from the study group, while left ventricular free wall thickness consistently was not associated with survival.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

Cytoskeletal actin microfilaments and the transient outward potassium current in hypertrophied rat ventriculocytes.

The durations of transmembrane action potentials recorded from single myocytes isolated from the endocardial surface of hypertrophied left ventricles of rats were increased, compared to the durations recorded from normal left ventricular cells at 36-37 degrees C. Exposure to phalloidin (1-20 microM, < 20 min), a specific stabilizer of the non-myofibrillar actin microfilament component of the cardiac cytoskeleton, had no effect on action potential duration of normal cells, but significantly shortened the prolonged action potentials of hypertrophied cells. Cytochalasin D (5-50 microM), a disrupter of the actin microfilaments, also had little effect on action potential duration of normal cells. However, cytochalasin D further increased the action potential duration of hypertrophied cells at 10 min exposure. The addition of phalloidin to solutions containing cytochalasin D, reduced the latter's increase of action potential duration in hypertrophied cells. Whole-cell transient outward K(+) current (I(to1)) density was significantly decreased in hypertrophied cells. At a test potential of +60 mV, the mean I(to1) density recorded from normal cells was 13.5 +/- 1.1 pA pF(-1) (n = 18) compared to 4.17 +/- 1.2 pA pF(-1) for LVH cells (n = 22; P < 0.05). Phalloidin (20 microM) increased and cytochalasin D (50 microM) decreased whole-cell I(to1) in hypertrophied cells but had no effect on I(to1), in normal cells. When equimolar concentrations were used, phalloidin, 10 microM, reversed the decrease in I(to1) brought about by cytochalasin D, 10 microM, in hypertrophied cells. The L-type calcium current density was reduced in LVH compared to normal cells. Phalloidin (20 microM) and cytochalasin D (50 microM) had no effect on I(Ca,L) in normal or LVH myocytes. The decrease in I(to1) in hypertrophied cells and the altered I(to1) responsiveness to phalloidin and cytochalasin D reflect modification of I(to1) channel function mediated, in part, through hypertrophy-altered cytoskeletal actin microfilament regulation of I(to1).

Actins↗

Cardiac response to pressure overload in 129S1/SvImJ and C57BL/6J mice: temporal- and background-dependent development of concentric left ventricular hypertrophy.

Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), a risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, is commonly caused by essential hypertension. Three geometric patterns of LVH can be induced by hypertension: concentric remodeling, concentric hypertrophy, and eccentric hypertrophy. Clinical studies suggest that different underlying etiologies, genetic modifiers, and risk of mortality are associated with LVH geometric patterns. Since pressure overload-induced LVH can be modeled experimentally using transverse aortic constriction (TAC) and since C57BL/6J (B6) and 129S1/SvImJ (129S1) strains, which have different baseline cardiovascular phenotypes, are commonly used, we conducted serial echocardiographic studies to assess cardiac function up to 8 wk of post-TAC in male B6, 129S1, and B6129F1 (F1) mice. B6 mice had an earlier onset and more pronounced impairment in contractile function, with corresponding left and right ventricular dilatation, fibrosis, change in expression of hypertrophy marker, and increased liver weights at 5 wk of post-TAC. These observations suggest that B6 mice had eccentric hypertrophy with systolic dysfunction and right-sided heart failure. In contrast, we found that 129S1 and F1 mice delayed transition to decompensated heart failure, with 129S1 mice exhibiting preserved systolic function until 8 wk of post-TAC and relatively mild alterations in histology and markers of hypertrophy at 5 wk post-TAC. Consistent with concentric hypertrophy, our results show that these strains manifest different cardiac responses to pressure overload in a time-dependent manner and that genetic susceptibility to initial concentric hypertrophy is dominant to eccentric hypertrophy. These results also imply that genetic background differences can complicate interpretation of TAC studies when using mixed genetic backgrounds.

Animals↗

Metabolic inhibition of ICa,L and IK differs in feline left ventricular hypertrophy.

To determine the intrinsic responsiveness of hypertrophied myocardium, electrophysiological properties of endocardial myocytes enzymatically dissociated from normal and hypertrophied feline left ventricle (LV) were compared during metabolic inhibition by 1 mM CN-. Chronic pressure overload was induced under surgical anesthesia. A single-pipette, whole cell clamp method was used to record action potential and membrane currents. Before CN-, action potential duration (APD) values at 90% repolarization (APD90) and at 0 mV (APD0mV) were significantly longer in hypertrophied cells. The current density of L-type Ca2+ currents (ICa,L) was not significantly different, whereas the time constant of the slow component (tau s) of ICa,L inactivation was significantly longer in hypertrophied cells. The current density of delayed rectifier K+ current (IK) was significantly smaller, the fast component (tau f) and tau s of IK activation were delayed, and those of IK deactivation were enhanced in hypertrophied cells. During exposure to CN-, APD shortened significantly more in hypertrophied cells; amplitude of ICa,L decreased, and the tau f and tau s of ICa,L inactivation shortened only in hypertrophied cells. However, IK showed no significant differences in changes in amplitude or kinetics during CN- exposure between normal and hypertrophied cells. Thus enhanced APD responsiveness to CN- is an intrinsic property of hypertrophied LV cells and ICa,L appears to be particularly affected by metabolic perturbation in such cells.

Animals↗

Genetic expression profiles during physiological and pathological cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure in rats.

Cardiac hypertrophy is a complex and nonhomogenous response to various stimuli. In this study, we used high-density oligonucleotide microarray to examine gene expression profiles during physiological hypertrophy, pathological hypertrophy, and heart failure in Dahl salt-sensitive rats. There were changes in 404/3,160 and 874/3,160 genes between physiological and pathological hypertrophy and the transition from hypertrophy to heart failure, respectively. There were increases in stress response genes (e.g., heat shock proteins) and inflammation-related genes (e.g., pancreatitis-associated protein and arachidonate 12-lipoxygenase) in pathological processes but not in physiological hypertrophy. Furthermore, atrial natriuretic factor and brain natriuretic protein showed distinctive changes that are very specific to different conditions. In addition, we used a resampling-based gene score-calculating method to define significantly altered gene clusters, based on Gene Ontology classification. It revealed significant alterations in genes involved in the apoptosis pathway during pathological hypertrophy, suggesting that the apoptosis pathway may play a role during the transition to heart failure. In addition, there were significant changes in glucose/insulin signaling, protein biosynthesis, and epidermal growth factor signaling during physiological hypertrophy but not during pathological hypertrophy.

Animals↗

Effects of hypertrophy on regional action potential characteristics in the rat left ventricle: a cellular basis for T-wave inversion?

BACKGROUND: In cardiac hypertrophy, ECG T-wave changes imply an abnormal sequence of ventricular repolarization. We investigated the hypothesis that this is due to changes in the normal regional differences in action potential duration. We assessed the contribution of potassium- and calcium-dependent currents to these differences. Both the altered sequence of ventricular repolarization and the underlying cellular mechanisms may contribute to the increased incidence of ventricular arrhythmias in hypertrophy. METHODS AND RESULTS: Rats received daily isoproterenol injections for 7 days. Myocytes were isolated from basal subendocardial (endo), basal midmyocardial (mid), and apical subepicardial (epi) regions of the left ventricular free wall. Action potentials were stimulated with patch pipettes at 37 degrees C. The ratio of heart weight to body weight and mean cell capacitance are increased by 22% and 18%, respectively, in hypertrophy compared with controls (P<.001). Normal regional differences in action potential duration at 25% repolarization (APD25) are reduced in hypertrophy (control: endo, 11.4+/-0.9 ms; mid, 8.2+/-0.9 ms; epi, 5.1+/-0.4 ms; hypertrophy: endo, 11.6+/-0.9 ms; mid, 10.4+/-0.8 ms; epi, 7.8+/-0.6 ms). The regional differences in APD25 are still present in 3 mmol/L 4-aminopyridine. Hypertrophy affects APD75 differently, depending on the region of origin of myocytes (ANOVA P<.05). APD75 is shortened in subendocardial myocytes but is prolonged in subepicardial myocytes (control: endo, 126+/-7 ms; epi, 96+/-10 ms; hypertrophy: endo, 91+/-6 ms; epi, 108+/-7 ms). These changes in APD75 are altered by intracellular calcium buffering. CONCLUSIONS: Normal regional differences in APD and the changes observed in hypertrophy are only partially explained by differences in I(tol). In hypertrophy, the normal endocardial/epicardial gradient in APD75 appears to be reversed. This may explain the T-wave inversion observed and will have implications for arrhythmogenesis.

4-Aminopyridine↗

Left ventricular hypertrophy precedes other target-organ damage in primary aldosteronism.

To elucidate whether there is a difference in the progression of target-organ damage between primary aldosteronism and essential hypertension, we compared left ventricular hypertrophy and extracardiac target-organ damage in 23 patients with primary aldosteronism and 116 patients with essential hypertension. The severity of hypertensive retinopathy and the renal involvement in primary aldosteronism were subclinical and similar to those in essential hypertension without left ventricular hypertrophy but significantly milder than those in essential hypertension with left ventricular hypertrophy. There was a strongly significant correlation between the degree of left ventricular mass index and the severity of hypertensive retinopathy and renal involvement independent of office blood pressure in essential hypertension. In contrast, left ventricular hypertrophy markedly progressed despite the mild extracardiac target-organ damage in primary aldosteronism. Left ventricular end-diastolic dimension index in primary aldosteronism (3.16+/-0.50 cm/m2) was significantly larger than in essential hypertension without (2.87+/-0.23) and with (2.88+/-0.22) left ventricular hypertrophy. On the other hand, there was no difference in extracardiac target-organ damage between 13 primary aldosteronism patients with eccentric left ventricular hypertrophy and the 26 essential hypertensive patients with eccentric left ventricular hypertrophy. The results suggest that predominantly volume load, be it due to aldosteronism or other mechanisms, resulting in eccentric left ventricular hypertrophy is less likely to cause extracardiac target-organ damage than hemodynamic or nonhemodynamic mechanisms resulting in concentric left ventricular hypertrophy.

Adult↗

Generation of new intercellular junctions between cardiocytes. A possible mechanism compensating for mechanical overload in the hypertrophied human adult myocardium.

Intercellular dehiscence is a common cardiocytic response to pathological conditions. However, little consideration has been given to the possibility of new intercellular junctions developing between cardiocytes within developed myocardium. To examine this possibility as it may relate to useful compensation for hemodynamic overloads, changes in cardiocytic connection were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy in hypertrophied myocardium of adult human hearts. Transmural myocardium of left ventricle was obtained at autopsy from five hearts with concentric hypertrophy, five hearts with eccentric hypertrophy, and five control hearts (noncardiac death). After formalin fixation, the number of cardiocytes connected to an individual cardiocyte was counted in tissues from the middle portion of the transmural samples by scanning electron microscopy. Cardiocytic diameter and connective tissue volume fraction were measured on the transmural sections by light microscopy. In concentrically hypertrophied hearts present both increased cardiocytic diameter and connective tissue volume fraction, the number of other cardiocytes connected to an individual cardiocyte (4.60 +/- 0.10 [mean +/- SE] was significantly increased (P < .05) compared with control hearts (4.19 +/- 0.12) or eccentrically hypertrophied hearts (4.11 +/- 0.10). The increase in junctions per cardiocyte in concentrically hypertrophied hearts suggests that new connections had been generated. More junctions developing during hypertrophy could add another structural advantage to those of cardiocytic hypertrophy and connective tissue proliferation as compensatory adjustments to hemodynamic overload in concentrically hypertrophied hearts.

Adult↗

Solitary papillary muscle hypertrophy as a possible form of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Patients can present with hypertrophied papillary muscles in the left ventricle, even without hypertrophy in other segments, and they have electrocardiographic (ECG) abnormalities suggestive of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). This study was performed to evaluate whether the solitary papillary muscle hypertrophy was related to HCM. By analyzing 6731 echocardiographic studies between 1990 and 1994, the incidence of patients with papillary muscle hypertrophy was retrospectively examined, as well as the ECG features and family history related to HCM in these patients. After the normal size of the anterolateral and posteromedial papillary muscles was obtained from echocardiographic studies in 40 healthy subjects (0.7 +/- 0.2 cm for each of the vertical and horizontal axis), papillary muscle hypertrophy was defined as follows: either the vertical or horizontal diameter of at least one of the 2 papillary muscles was more than 1.1 cm (mean+2SD in the normal subjects). Using this definition, 29 patients with papillary muscle hypertrophy were identified, of whom 14 (48%) showed high voltage QRS complexes, 10 (34%) showed T wave inversion, and 6 (21%) showed abnormal Q waves. Ten patients (34%) had a family history of HCM. In 2 patients that were followed for 18 and 11 years, respectively, the voltages of the QRS complexes and inverted T waves progressed with the hypertrophy of the papillary muscle. These findings suggest that solitary papillary muscle hypertrophy is related to HCM and that papillary muscle hypertrophy is a newly identified subtype of or an early form of HCM.

Adolescent↗

Non-corresponding effects of an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor on cardiac and vascular hypertrophy in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) may have different effects on cardiac hypertrophy than on vascular hypertrophy. Arginine vasopressin (AVP) may promote cardiac hypertrophy. Our aims were (1) to simultaneously examine the chronic effects of ACEIs on hypertrophy of the heart and hypertrophy of the coronary and renal interlobular arteries, and (2) to clarify the relation between AVP concentration (AVPC) and cardiac hypertrophy. ACEI (delapril: 30 mg/kg/day) or vehicle (5% arabic gum) was administered in a preventive (4 to 28 weeks of age) or a therapeutic (12-24 weeks of age) protocol in spontaneously hypertensive rats. In both protocols, delapril produced a slight but significant decrease in systolic blood pressure. In the therapeutic protocol, the weight of the left ventricle (mean+/-SE) was lower (p<0.05) in the ACEI group (64+/-2 mg/100 g body weight) than in the control group (69+/-1 mg/100 g body weight). Plasma renin activity was significantly higher in the ACEI group than in the control group in both the preventive (p <0.01) and therapeutic (p<0.01) protocols. In the therapeutic protocol, AVPC was significantly (p<0.05) lower in the ACEI group than in the control group. AVPC was significantly (p=0.02, r=0.46) correlated with the weight of the left ventricle in the therapeutic protocol. For both protocols, no differences were noted between the ACEI and control groups in the vascular hypertrophy of the coronary and renal interlobular arteries. We conclude that (1) the preventive or therapeutic effect of ACEIs on hypertrophy may not be the same in the heart as in the coronary and renal arteries; and (2) AVP was significantly correlated with the left ventricular weight. This indicates that AVP could play a role in the etiology of cardiac hypertrophy in SHR.

Aldosterone↗