Elevated blood pressure is a risk factor for mitral regurgitation, a
leakage of one of the heart valves, according to a paper published this
week in PLOS Medicine by Kazem Rahimi of The George Institute
for Global Health at the University of Oxford, UK and colleagues. The
research suggests that this valve disorder, which is increasingly
diagnosed wordwide, particularly among older people, is not an
inevitable consequence of ageing, as previously assumed, but may be
preventable.
In mitral regurgitation, the valve between the two chambers on the left side of the heart doesn't close tightly, allowing blood to leak backwards when the heart muscle contracts.
Mitral regurgitation may be associated with palpitations, and in severe cases can cause shortness of breath, fatigue, and swelling of the legs and feet. In the new study, researchers used electronic health records from the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) between 1990 and 2015 to examine the relationship between systolic blood pressure (BP) and mitral regurgitation. The study included 5.5 million patients with no known cardiovascular disease at the start of the study.
During the 10-year follow-up period, 28,655 patients (0.52%) were diagnosed with mitral regurgitation based on hospital discharge reports or primary care records. Systolic blood pressure (BP) was found to be continuously related to the risk of mitral regurgitation, with each 20 mmHg increase in systolic BP associated with a 26% higher risk of the heart disorder (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.26; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.23 to 1.29). Only a small portion of this excess risk could be explained by other conditions that are known to cause mitral regurgitation, such as myocardial infarction or ischaemic heart disease (mediator-adjusted HR 1.22; CI 1.20 to 1.25).
"These findings suggest that BP control may be of importance in the prevention of mitral regurgitation," the authors say.
In mitral regurgitation, the valve between the two chambers on the left side of the heart doesn't close tightly, allowing blood to leak backwards when the heart muscle contracts.
Mitral regurgitation may be associated with palpitations, and in severe cases can cause shortness of breath, fatigue, and swelling of the legs and feet. In the new study, researchers used electronic health records from the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) between 1990 and 2015 to examine the relationship between systolic blood pressure (BP) and mitral regurgitation. The study included 5.5 million patients with no known cardiovascular disease at the start of the study.
During the 10-year follow-up period, 28,655 patients (0.52%) were diagnosed with mitral regurgitation based on hospital discharge reports or primary care records. Systolic blood pressure (BP) was found to be continuously related to the risk of mitral regurgitation, with each 20 mmHg increase in systolic BP associated with a 26% higher risk of the heart disorder (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.26; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.23 to 1.29). Only a small portion of this excess risk could be explained by other conditions that are known to cause mitral regurgitation, such as myocardial infarction or ischaemic heart disease (mediator-adjusted HR 1.22; CI 1.20 to 1.25).
"These findings suggest that BP control may be of importance in the prevention of mitral regurgitation," the authors say.
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