Prevalence of Primary Aldosteronism in Hypertensive Patients and Its Effect on the Heart

Primary hyperaldosteronism (PHA) is thought to have a harmful effect on the cardiovascular system and, in recent years, the number of cases of hypertension due to PHA has been increasing. The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of PHA and to assess cardiac damage associated with the condition in 183 consecutive hypertensive patients. A full secondary hypertension work-up was performed, and included ECG and echocardiography. In total, 11 (6%) patients were diagnosed with PHA. Compared with other hypertensives, those with PHA had higher systolic blood pressure, more frequently had evidence of left ventricular hypertrophy on ECG (45.5% vs 11.6%; P<.01), and had a larger left ventricular mass on echocardiography (145.5 g/m2 vs 97.52 g/m2; P<.0001). In conclusion, PHA is a significant contributor to the increasing prevalence of hypertension and its effect on the heart is greater than that of other causes of hypertension.

El hiperaldosteronismo primario (HAP) es una causa creciente de hipertensión arterial (HTA) en los últimos años, y se lo ha asociado a un efecto deletéreo cardiovascular. Con el objetivo de conocer la prevalencia real de HAP en nuestro medio y sus alteraciones cardiacas, hemos estudiado a 183 pacientes hipertensos consecutivos. Se realizó un completo cribado de HTA secundaria, ECG y ecocardiografía. Se estableció el diagnóstico de HAP en 11 (6%) pacientes. Éstos presentaban mayores cifras de presión arterial sistólica, mayor prevalencia de hipertrofia ventricular izquierda en el ECG (el 45,5 frente al 11,6%; p < 0,01) y mayor masa ventricular izquierda (145,5 y 97,5 g/m2; p < 0,0001) que el resto de los hipertensos. El HAP es una causa importante de elevación de las cifras de presion arterial y se asocia a una mayor afección cardiaca que otras causas de HTA.