Cardiac hypertension hypertrophy

In patients with hypertension, hypertrophy of the heart is a short-term adaptive response to pressure overload. In the long term, cardiac hypertrophy is not adaptive, and can lead to abnormal heart rhythms and heart failure.

One of the pathologic consequences of hypertension is systemic hypertensive heart disease (SHHD). In systemic hypertensive heart disease, the heart adapts to the increased work load caused by high blood pressure by increasing the muscle mass of the left ventricle. This is known as left ventricle hypertrophy.

The minimal criteria for diagnosing systemic hypertensive heart disease are left ventricular hypertrophy and a history of hypertension. Even mild hypertension, slightly above 140/90 mmHg has been shown to induce left ventricular hypertrophy. Approximately 25% of the population in the United States suffers from this type of hypertension.