The Relationship Between High‐Sensitivity C‐Reactive Protein Levels and Left Ventricular Hypertrophy in Patients With Newly Diagnosed Hypertension

The authors aimed to evaluate the relationship between high‐sensitivity C‐reactive protein (hs‐CRP) and presence of left ventricular hypertrophy and diastolic dysfunction in patients with hypertension. A total of 95 newly diagnosed hypertensive patients (mean age, 54±10 years) and 20 controls were included in this study. Patients were divided into four groups according to relative wall thickness as normal, concentric remodeling, concentric, and eccentric hypertrophy. hs‐CRP was measured in all patients and serum hs‐CRP level was shown to be increased in patients with hypertension compared with controls (0.57 mg/dL vs 0.25 mg/dL, respectively; P<.001). The hs‐CRP level was highest in patients with concentric hypertrophy. When compared with controls, serum hs‐CRP level was significantly higher in patients with concentric remodeling (0.61±0.3 mg/dL vs 0.43±0.5 mg/dL, P<.030) and concentric hypertrophy (0.69±0.3 mg/dL vs 0.43±0.5 mg/dL, P<.032). The present study shows that serum hs‐CRP is significantly associated with left ventricular diastolic function and concentric hypertrophy in patients with hypertension.