Effects of left ventricular hypertrophy on the coronary circulation.

Many laboratories have provided evidence to support the concept that LV hypertrophy is associated with many significant coronary perfusion abnormalities. The decreased coronary flow reserve in the presence of LV hypertrophy is implicated as the mechanism of angina in patients with aortic stenosis and normal coronary arteries. The abnormal subendocardial autoregulation found in dogs may have important implications for the abrupt treatment of hypertension in patients with LV hypertrophy. The marked increase in mortality and the wavefront of infarction in dogs with hypertension and LV hypertrophy may have striking clinical implications for the salvage of myocardium in patients with chronic hypertension and LV hypertrophy during acute myocardial infarction.