High muscle sympathetic nerve activity is associated with left ventricular dysfunction in treated hypertensive patients.

The presence of asymptomatic left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) in hypertensive patients can be associated with the development of cardiac events. The increase in sympathetic activity may be 1 of the mechanisms that predisposes to this outcome. In this study, we analyzed 2 hypotheses: (i) whether sympathetic activity is higher in the presence of LVDD, independent of blood pressure control and (ii) whether different classes of LVDD have a different effect on sympathetic activity. After analyzing left ventricular function using echo Doppler cardiography, 45 hypertensive patients receiving treatment were allocated into 3 groups: normal function (LV-NF, n 15), impaired relaxation (LV-IR, n 15), and pseudonormal or restrictive (LV-P/R, n 15). An age-, sex-, and body mass indexmatched control group of normotensive volunteers (N, n 14) was included. Muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA), heart rate, and systolic blood pressure variabilities and baroreflex sensitivity were evaluated while the patient was in a supine position. Blood pressure and antihypertensive drug use were similar among the hypertensive groups. The LV-IR and LV-P/R groups had similar MSNA (331 and 321 bursts/min, respectively), which was significantly higher than that of the LV-NF and N groups (263 and 152 bursts/min, respectively). The LV-IR and LV-P/R groups had significantly higher LF-systolic blood pressure variability and significantly lower baroreflex sensitivity compared with the N group. The presence of asymptomatic LVDD is associated with increased MSNA, independent of blood pressure control. The sympathetic hyperactivity associated with LVDD is similar in the different patterns of LVDD studied.