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Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), associated with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in hypertensive patients, has been shown to regress with blood-pressure-lowering pharmacologic therapy. But what are the effects of exercise and weight loss on LVH? To answer this question, researchers studied overweight and obese subjects with mild hypertension (minimum age, 29; systolic BP, 130-180 mm Hg; diastolic BP, 85-110 mm Hg; mean body-mass index [BMI], 31.4; mean weight, 91.7 kg). Subjects were randomized in a 2:2:1 ratio to exercise alone, exercise plus a behavioral weight-loss program, or to wait-list control status.
Of 144 original enrollees, 82 completed the 6-month study and had adequate echocardiographic data available. By 6 months, mea…