Disturbances of Rate and Rhythm in Hypertensive Heart Disease

The disturbances of rate and rhythm which occur in the course of hypertensive heart disease have been accorded little or no attention to date. Extrasystoles of the ventricular type are considered common, but no figures are available as to their frequency. Of other rhythmic disturbances, White 1 reported that in a group of 708 cases of hypertensive heart disease auricular fibrillation was noted in 92 (13 per cent), paroxysmal tachycardia in 11 (1.5 per cent), auricular flutter in 2 (0.3 per cent) and auriculoventricular block in 13 (1.8 per cent). The incidence of auricular fibrillation has been reported as 2.2, 2 13, 1 13.7 3 and 25.3 per cent. 4 Arrhythmias other than ventricular extrasystoles, such as auricular flutter, the various tachycardias, nodal rhythm and heart block, have been reported infrequently in series of cases of hypertensive heart disease, since they do not occur commonly in this condition. Nor are reports of individual cases common.