Association between morning blood pressure surge and left ventricular hypertrophy in elderly patients with essential hypertension

AIM: To explore the association between morning blood pressure surge (MBPS) and left ventricular hypertrophy in elderly patients with essential hypertension. METHODS: One hundred and seven patients under 24 h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring were categorized as with MBPS (n=40) and no MBPS (NMBPS) (n=67) and their total cholesterol, body mass index (BMI) and left ventricular mass index (LVMI) were determined. RESULTS: Systolic blood pressure in MBPS was higher than in NMBPS (P<0.05). LVMI in MBPS was higher than in NMBPS ［(132± 28) g/m2 vs.(113±28) g/m2, P<0.01］. CONCLUSION: Morning blood pressure surge is closely related with the development of left ventricular hypertrophy in elderly patients with essential hypertension.