[Management of hypertensive patients with left ventricular hypertrophy].

CARDIOVASCULAR RISK OF LEFT VENTRICULAR HYPERTROPHY: Because of the rhythmic, mechanical and ischemic risk related to it, the left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is considered to be a major independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease which should be screened for and treated early. In patients with type 2 diabetes, left ventricular hypertrophy is mainly due to high blood pressure, but also to reduced elasticity of the large vessels, defective vasomotricity and dysfunction of the arterial endothelium. Obesity, elevated blood viscosity, hyperinsulinism and/or autonomous cardiac neuropathy can also have a favoring effect. THE LIVE STUDY: Is the first multicentric European study comparing the efficacy of a thiazide-like diuretic, slow-release indapamid, with a converting enzyme inhibitor, enalapril 20 mg, on the reduction of the left ventricular mass index (LVMI) in hypertensive subjects with LVH. The study involved a randomized centralized reading of the echocardiograms as well as a randomized and blinded reading at the end of the study. DEMONSTRATED SUPERIORITY OF INDAPAMID SR: The LIVE study clearly demonstrated the superiority of indapamid SR over enalapril 20 mg in reducing the LVMI in hypertensive subjects with LVH while the blood pressure lowering effect was comparable for the two treatments.