RESUMEN
We studied relationship between structure-functional parameters of left and right cardiac chambers and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) level in 118 patients with arterial hypertension (AH) (35 men, 83 women) and 17 healthy volunteers. Methods comprised 24-hour arterial pressure monitoring (APM), two-dimensional echocardiography (echoCG), Doppler echoCG, and tissue echoCG of mitral and tricuspid atrioventricular annuli, treadmill test, 6-min walk test, and measurement of NT-proBNP level in blood plasma. In patients with AH blood plasma NT-proBNP level was significantly higher than in a group of healthy persons of similar age. Elevation of this biochemical marker was accompanied by significant change of characteristics of remodeling of left and right parts of the heart, abnormalities of left ventricular diastolic function according to transmitral blood flow, disturbances of left ventricular diastolic and systolic function according to tissue Doplerography data. Comparative analysis of structure-functional parameters of the heart and NT-proBNP level in patients with AH allowed to reveal more significant changes of parameters of diastolic and systolic remodeling, local and global diastolic and systolic left ventricular function in patients with NT-proBNP levels more than 306 mol/ml. Factors determining NT-proBNP level in patients with AH were age, free right ventricular wall thickness, and body mass index.