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  • Title: Comparison of cardiac and peripheral arterial stiffening and ventriculovascular uncoupling in patients with uncomplicated hypertension versus patients with hypertension after heart transplantation.
    Author: Milani RV, Mehra MR, Lavie CJ, Ventura HO.
    Journal: Am J Cardiol; 2006 Sep 15; 98(6):789-92. PubMed ID: 16950186.
    Abstract:
    Despite normal ejection fractions, patients who undergo heart transplantation (HT) have low peak aerobic capacity and reduced arterial compliance, suggesting "ventriculovascular uncoupling." To what extent this is related to post-transplantation hypertension versus the unique characteristics of the donor-recipient relation remains poorly understood. Echocardiograms were retrospectively reviewed from 126 normal subjects, 309 patients with uncomplicated hypertension (UH), and 58 consecutive patients with HT >1 year after the procedure who were stable without evidence of rejection. Left ventricular (LV) end-systolic elastance (Ees), a measure of LV systolic performance; effective arterial elastance (Ea), a measure of vascular stiffness; and Ea/Ees, a parameter describing ventriculovascular coupling, were obtained. Compared with normal subjects, tandem increases in Ea (+24% and +85%, all p values <0.0001) and Ees (+23% and +33%, all p values <0.0001) were observed in patients with UH and HT, respectively, with patients with HT having significantly higher values than those with UH (both p values <0.05). Although the Ea/Ees ratio remained similar between normal subjects and patients with UH, patients with HT exhibited increases in the Ea/Ees ratio (all p values <0.01) and reduced stroke volume indexes (-20% and -22%, respectively, all p values <0.05). These changes were associated with a doubling of LV concentric remodeling in patients with HT compared with those with UH (67% vs 34%, p <0.0001). In conclusion, HT is associated with increases in Ees, Ea, and the Ea/Ees ratio, suggesting ventriculovascular uncoupling and maximal LV stroke work. These aberrations, which determine cardiovascular performance in the setting of HT, are not simply explained by vascular age or post-transplantation hypertension but may adversely affect functional capacity.
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