CorSalud 2012 Jul-Sep;4(3)

This article is only available in Spanish

Rita del C. Ruiz Gutiérrez, MD¹; Iliana Cabrera Rojo; MD²; Vladimir Capdevila Pérez, MD³ and Francisco Rodríguez Martorell, MD⁴.
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1. First Degree Specialist in Comprehensive General Medicine and in Normal and Pathological Physiology. Instructor Professor. Latin American School of Medicine. Havana, Cuba

2. Second Degree Specialist in Normal and Pathological Physiology. Assistant Professor.

3. First Degree Specialist in Comprehensive General Medicine and in Normal and Pathological Physiology.
   E-mail: vladimir.capdevila@infomed.sld.cu

4. First Degree Specialist in Comprehensive General Medicine and Cardiology. Master in Diagnostic Means. Associate Professor.

* University Hospital "Calixto Garcia". Havana, Cuba.

Abstract

Introduction and Objectives: Hypertension affects approximately 30% of adults worldwide, and is a cardiovascular and cerebrovascular risk factor. Ergometry and echocardiography are not routine tests, but allow obtaining guiding parameters of cardiovascular functional capacity. The objective was to compare these parameters in hypertensive patients after treatment with enalapril. Method: A quasi-experimental, prospective study was performed in 38 patients, who underwent ergometry and echocardiography before and after enalapril monotherapy (10-20 mg/day) for 6 months. Ergometric and echocardiographic variables were assessed. Results: Males were predominant (63%), the average age was 39 years, 89.5% were stage I hypertensive subjects, there were no stage III hypertensive subjects, and secondary hypertension was excluded. At both times of study obese subjects were predominant. At 6 months there was a reduction of systolic and diastolic blood pressures both at rest and during physical exertion, which was significant for the systolic (p <0.005) and more noticeable in women, in those under 40 years and in the obese; the variations in heart rate lacked relevance. The initial finding of diastolic dysfunction in 50% of patients that was partly reversed after treatment was significant, and only 5.3% of patients had alterations in ventricular geometry. Conclusions: After treatment BP change significantly, there were no significant changes in HR and left ventricular geometry, and impaired diastolic function partially reversed. These results suggest the performing of studies with longer evolution and the use of other methods for measuring functional capacity in hypertensive patients.
Key words: Hypertension, enalapril, ergometry, echocardiography