Abstract
Introduction: Many studies evaluated left ventricle (LV) function in mildly increased arterial blood pressure, however right ventricle (RV) had received scarce attention due to the complex shape and orientation. The aim of this study was to evaluate RV diastolic dysfunction using pulsed and tissue Doppler echocardiography in never-treated patients with blood pressure (BP) values varying from the optimal to the mild hypertensive range.
Materials and Methods: The study group consisted of 57 patients with high-normal and mildly increased arterial BP. Twenty healthy age and sex matched subjects were recruited as controls. Conventional echocardiography was done to study LV dimensions and systolic function. Pulsed Doppler echocardiography was used to measure peak early and late tricuspid diastolic filling velocities. Tissue Doppler imaging was done to determine RV annular velocities.
Results: Right ventricle hypertrophy was found in 28% of our patients with newly diagnosed systemic hypertension (n=16). Tricuspid E/A was 1.3 and 0.9 in control and hypertensive groups respectively. Tissue Doppler tricuspid E '/A' was significantly decreased in hypertensive group (0.8 ±0.2 versus1.2 ±0.1 in control, p <0.001).
Conclusions: right ventricle diastolic function deteriorates in response to slightly increased systemic blood pressure. Right ventricular diastolic dysfunction may be an early clue to hypertensive heart disease.

Key words: Diastolic dysfunction, Right ventricle, tissue doppler echocardiography