Skip Navigation

European Journal of Heart Failure 2002 4(5):655-660; doi:10.1016/S1388-9842(02)00160-5
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by D'Aloia, A.
Right arrow Articles by Cas, L. D.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by D'Aloia, A.
Right arrow Articles by Cas, L. D.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© 2002 European Society of Cardiology

Hypertensive crisis and acute, reversible, left ventricular systolic dysfunction: a case report

Antonio D'Aloia, Claudia Fiorina, Enrico Vizzardi, Pompilio Faggiano* and Livio Dei Cas

Chair of Cardiology, University of Brescia and Cardiology Division Spedali Civili, Brescia, Italy

* Corresponding author. Via S. Antonio, 6 25133 Brescia, Italy. Tel.: +39-030-2007785; fax: +39-030-2007785. E-mail address: faggiano@numerica.it

Key Words: Left ventricular systolic dysfunction • Acute pulmonary oedema • Systemic hypertension • Hypertensive emergencies

Received September 14, 2001; Revised December 5, 2001; Accepted May 29, 2002

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.


   1. Introduction
 
High blood pressure and left ventricular hypertrophy are powerful, independent predictors of heart failure [1,2]. Hypertensive emergencies are usually life-threatening situations caused by acute and marked blood-pressure elevation. Such emergencies include isolated hypertensive crisis, left ventricular heart failure, intracranial bleeding and renal insufficiency [3].

Most patients with acute pulmonary oedema due to systemic hypertension have normal left-ventricular ejection fraction. In these situations, acute heart failure has been attributed to left ventricular diastolic dysfunction [4,5]. However, pulmonary oedema may also be due to transient left ventricular systolic dysfunction associated with mitral regurgitation or acute myocardial ischemia.

We describe a patient affected by a severe and prolonged increase in arterial blood pressure, associated with acute pulmonary oedema, concomitant severe left ventricular dilatation and systolic dysfunction, which were completely normalised after a few days of intensive medical treatment. We speculate on the pathogenesis of acute pulmonary . . . [Full Text of this Article]


   2. Case report
 

   3. Discussion
 

Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?