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Excerpt
Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is a pathologic condition characterized by increased myocardial mass. LVH is associated with hypertension and cardiovascular events. Increased fitness lowers blood pressure and may decrease LVH. Thus, we sought to determine the association between fitness and left ventricular mass (LVM) in women.
Data from 189 hypertensive (HTN) and 374 normotensive (NM) women were analyzed. The subjects were divided into fit (F) and non-fit (NF) groups based on exercise time to exhaustion and adjusted for age. All subjects exhibited a normal exercise tolerance test and none was on antihypertensive medication. The fit group had significantly lower left ventricular mass index (LVMI), interventricular septum (IVS), and posterior wall (PW) values, controlled for body mass index. (Table)
We conclude that fitness is associated inversely with left ventricular mass in women.
