Assessment of intra-and interatrial asynchrony in patients with hypertension

Objective: To assess intra-and interatrial asynchronicity in patients with hypertension by tissue Doppler imaging.Methods: Fourty patients with hypertension without left ventricular hypertrophy(NLVH group),51 with left ventricular hypertrophy because of hypertension(LVH group)and 32 healthy subjects(Control group)were included.Color tis-sue Doppler imaging was used to evaluate intra-and interatrial asynchrony in the three groups.Measurements below the atrioventricular plane were selected on the right atrial(RA)free wall,interatrial septum(IAS),and left atrial(LA)free wall.The time difference from the onset of the P wave to the onset of the A wave at the right atrium(P-RA),the IAS(P-IAS),and the left atrium(P-LA) was measured,respectively.Asynchrony was defined as the differ-ences between P-IAS and P-RA(RA asynchrony),P-LA and P-IAS(LA asynchrony),and P-LA and P-RA(interatrial asynchrony).Results: Compared with the control group,LA and inter-atrial asynchrony was significantly increased in the NLVH and LVH groups.Compared with the NLVH group,LA and interatrial asynchrony was significantly increased in the LVH groups.Multiple factor stepwise regression analysis showed that LA asynchrony was related to left ventricular mass index(LVMI),NT-proBNP and age.Conclusion: In patients with hypertension,significant LA and interatrial asynchrony are documented and evaluated by noninvasive color tissue Doppler imaging.LA asynchrony is positively correlated with the LVMI,NT-proBNP and age.