Precursors of established hypertension in borderline hypertensives. A two-year follow-up.

We performed exercise testing, 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring and echocardiography in 37 selected patients with borderline hypertension (24 men and 13 women, mean age 39.8 years, range 23-50) in an attempt to detect early cardiovascular changes that could predict future established hypertension. All subjects were clinically reinvestigated after a mean period of 28 +/- 4 months. At entry 24/37 (65%) showed an exaggerated blood pressure response to exercise (systolic pressure > or = 220 mmHg and/or diastolic pressure > or = 105 mmHg) while 13 (35%) had a normal pressure response. Patients with exaggerated pressure response showed significantly higher left ventricular mass index in comparison to those with normal pressure response (98.1 +/- 10.7 vs. 84 +/- 13, respectively; P < 0.05). They also had higher, although not significantly different, average 24-h systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels. At follow up seven subjects (16%) were diagnosed as having established hypertension, while 30 (84%) remained borderline hypertensives. No subject was judged normotensive. All of the seven hypertensive subjects were a proportion (7/24 = 29%) of the group with exaggerated blood pressure response to exercise. Also, they were the eldest of the total group of borderlines (mean age 44 years) and had the highest left ventricular mass index (100.6 +/- 13 g/m2). Borderline hypertensives show a spectrum of cardiovascular changes that could be considered as a part of the hypertensive risk profile. However, there are no specific characteristics that reliably distinguish subjects prone to develop hypertension. Repeated clinical observations and correct measurements of resting blood pressure may have greater relevance in the management of patients with borderline hypertension.

Cardiac rhabdomyosarcoma: a clinicopathologic and electron microscopy study.

A 66-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital with a neurological syndrome characterized by ataxia and diplopia. Magnetic resonance of the brain documented an ischemic medullary lesion. Examination of the heart revealed a grade 2/6 systolic murmur at the left sternal border and apex that radiated towards the axilla. The echocardiography study showed a mild mitral regurgitation, and an abnormally enlarged posterior papillary muscle was found in the left ventricle. Two weeks after admission, the patient died suddenly due to a stroke. At autopsy, a recent vast swollen ischemic cerebral infraction was found. Furthermore, two old infarcts were observed in the spleen. A cardiac examination showed a white-gray ulcered mass in the left ventricle and histological analysis revealed a rhabdomyosarcoma.