Hypertension and heart failure: role of neurohormonal mechanisms.

Hypertension represents the most common associated cause of heart failure, and it is frequently involved in the pathogenesis of left ventricular dysfunction and its progression towards congestive heart failure. A common pathophysiological link of hypertension to heart failure is represented by the abnormalities of the neurohormonal profile and its impact on cardiac function, systemic hemodynamics and salt/water balance. This article synthetically reviews this aspect together with a specific analysis of the significance of measurements of neurohormones for diagnosis and prognostic stratification in heart failure.