Hypertension in valvar aortic stenosis.

The indirect arterial blood pressure in 50 cases of catheter-proven aortic stenosis without significant incompetence was examined. Defining the upper limit of normal blood pressure as 140/90mmHg, 14 percent had borderline, 18 percent had mild and 8 percent had severe hypertension. There was a significant positive correlation of systolic and diastolic blood pressure with age; ie pressures rose with age. The rate of increase was virtually identical with that of the normal population except for those over 70. Hypertension interferes with reliable clinical and haemodynamic quantitation of the valve lesion. The two lesions summate to increase the systolic burden on left ventricle.