Left Atrial Size as a Predictor of Exercise Capacity in Hypertensive Patients

Uncontrolled and prolonged elevation of blood pressure (BP) can lead to a variety of changes in the myocardial structure, coronary vasculature, and conduction system of the heart .These changes can lead to the development of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH),various conduction system diseases, systolic and diastolic dysfunction of the myocardium, coronary artery disease which manifest clinically as angina, myocardial infarction, cardiac arrhythmias (especially atrial fibrillation), and congestive heart failure (CHF).Increased LA size accompanying hypertension in the absence of valvular heart disease or systolic dysfunction usually implies chronicity of hypertension and may correlate with the severity of LV diastolic dysfunctionThe aim of the thesis is to find out the predictor power of left atrial size on exercise capacity in hypertensive patients using exercise stress ECG test and transthoracic echocardiography.