Aldosterone has hypertrophic and profibrotic effects on the heart. The relationship between plasma aldosterone levels and left ventricular diastolic function in hypertension, however, is unclear. The aim of this study was to examine this relationship in treatment-naive hypertensive patients free of comorbidities that could affect left ventricular diastolic filling properties. In 115 patients with primary hypertension who were eating a standard diet and 100 matched normotensive controls, we measured plasma aldosterone and active renin levels and performed both conventional echocardiography and tissue-Doppler imaging for assessment of left ventricular diastolic function. Left ventricular hypertrophy was found in 21% of hypertensive patients, and diastolic dysfunction was detected in 20% by conventional echocardiography and in 58% by tissue-Doppler imaging. Patients with left ventricular diastolic dysfunction at tissue-Doppler imaging were older and more frequently men, had greater body mass index, blood pressure, alcohol intake, left ventricular mass index, relative wall thickness, and lower plasma aldosterone levels than patients with preserved diastolic function. Plasma aldosterone correlated directly with left ventricular mass index in addition to age, body mass index, and systolic blood pressure. Plasma aldosterone was also directly related to e' velocity at tissue-Doppler imaging, but this relationship was lost after multivariate adjustment. In conclusion, plasma aldosterone levels are associated with left ventricular hypertrophy but have no independent relationship with left ventricular diastolic properties in hypertensive patients
