Background Genetic and environmental factors play a major role in the pathogenesis of hypertension. The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of family hypertensive history on the development of abdominal obesity and cardiovascular risk during a 10-year follow-up of a young healthy male population.
Material and methods The study was carried out on a group of 68 normotensive subjects, aged 23 ± 3.5 years, mean ± SD. Thirty three of them had positive hypertensive family history in at least one of the parents (FH+). The subjects underwent the following procedures: anthropometric measurements, basic biochemical tests, office blood pressure measurements, ambulatory blood pressure measurements (ABPM), echocardiography.
Results Waist circumference in both groups were similar at the beginning of observation. After a 10 year follow-up the offspring of hypertensive parents had an increased waist circumference in relation to the rest of population (95 ± 10 v. 88 ± 9 cm, p = 0.02). The structural changes of the heart differed significantly in the FH+ group from the rest of the population with increases in: posterior wall thickness (0.13 ± 0.11 v. 0.05 ± 0.11 cm, p = 0.03), relative wall thickness (RWT) (0.08 ± 0.04 v. 0.05 ± 0.05; p = 0.04) and left ventricular mass (LVM/H2.7) [38.4 ± 6.8 v. 34.7 ± 5.8 (g/m2.7), p < 0.05]. FH+ subjects were prone to an elevated diastolic office blood pressure (81 ± 10 v. 75 ± 8 mm Hg, p = 0.02) and systolic blood pressure during the day (134 ±9 v. 127 ± 9 mm Hg, p = 0.01).
Conclusions Offspring of hypertensive parents had a higher probability for the development of abdominal obesity, elevated daytime systolic blood pressure and early echocardiographic changes. This study explores the hereditary nature in overall hypertension and cardiovascular adverse events.
Arterial Hypertension 2011, vol. 15, no 1, pages 29–36