Table 2. Clinical characteristics of patients with essential hypertension without left ventricular hypertrophy over the entire study (n = 98): basal, stage I = at 12 months, stage II = at 24 months.
| Variable | Basal | Stage I | Stage II |
| Age (years) | 53±11 | 54±10 | 55±12 |
| SBP (mm Hg) | 146±17 | 135±16‡ | 136±14‡ |
| DBP (mm Hg) | 88±11 | 83±10‡ | 83±9‡ |
| PP (mm Hg) | 58±14 | 52±12† | 53±12† |
| Heart rate (bpm) | 70±12 | 71±11 | 70±10 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 28±3 | 28±3 | 28±3 |
| GFR (ml/min/1.73 m2) | 93±25 | 94±21 | 93±21 |
| Total cholesterol (mg/dl) | 214±40 | 206±33* | 206±33* |
| Na (mEq/l) | 141±2 | 140±5 | 139±7 |
| Hemoglobin (mg/dl) | 14±1 | 15±1 | 15±1 |
| Diabetes mellitus (%) | 17 | 20 | 21 |
| EF (%) | 59±5 | 59±5 | 61±5* |
| E/A | 1.02±0.22 | 1.05±0.27 | 1.01±0.26 |
| Vp (cm/s) | 56±8 | 56±11 | 57±12 |
| DT (ms) | 186±28 | 183±22 | 184±22 |
| RVm | 50±9 | 53±11 | 54±12 |
| LVMI (g/m2.7) | 39±6 | 39±6 | 39±9 |
| Serum NT-proBNP (pg/ml) | 33 (16–54) | 39 (27–60)† | 37 (18–61) |
Results are shown as mean ± SD or percentage of subjects. NT-proBNP levels are presented as the median and interquartile range.
BMI, body mass index; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; DT, deceleration time; E/A, flow velocity in early diastole and during atrial contraction ratio; EF, ejection fraction; GFR, glomerular filtration rate; LVMI, left ventricular mass index; NT-proBNP, N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide levels; PP, pulse pressure; RVm, maximum longitudinal relaxation velocity of left ventricle; SBP, systolic blood pressure. Significant difference versus basal levels; Vp, mitral flow propagation velocity:
*p<0.05;
†
p<0.01;
‡
p<0.0001.