Objective: To compare the 2-year longitudinal with the cross-sectional relationships of blood pressure and body mass index with echocardiographic left ventricular measurements in middle-aged males with no history of cardiovascular disease or hypertension.
Methods: M-mode echocardiograms of adequate quality were obtained at initial and 2-year follow-up examinations in 177 subjects. Measurements of left ventricular wall thickness and internal dimensions were made, and estimates of left ventricular mass/height were calculated. Longitudinal changes in left ventricular measurements and risk factors were computed as the differences between the follow-up and initial values.
Results: Systolic blood pressure (SBP) was significantly associated with left ventricular mass/height and wall thickness in cross-sectional and in longitudinal analyses. Similar results were observed after adjusting for age, body mass index, sport activity and heart rate. Although body mass index was strongly related to left ventricular mass/height, wall thickness and internal dimension in the cross-sectional study, no significant associations were observed between changes in body mass index and in left ventricular measurements.
Conclusions: The present study emphasizes the differential effects of spontaneous changes in blood pressure and body mass index on the evolution of the left ventricular mass in middle-aged males. Spontaneous changes in SBP during the 2-year follow-up period were associated with rapid changes in left ventricular structure. The 2-year period might not have been sufficient for body mass index to induce changes in left ventricular structure. The duration and amplitude of body weight changes which entail changes in left ventricular mass remain to be determined by further longitudinal investigations.