Vortex Formation Time is a Novel Measure for Early Detection of Diastolic Abnormalities in Adolescents with Hypertension

Pediatric hypertension (HTN) has demonstrated an upward trend in recent years. Adolescent HTN has been linked to adult HTN, cardiovascular disease, and other health conditions. Thus, it is essential that HTN and its associated cardiac abnormalities be diagnosed and treated early to minimize lifelong adverse effects. In this study, we evaluated whether vortex formation time (VFT), a validated echocardiogram measure of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction, correlated with ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) and HTN in adolescents. Echocardiogram data including systolic and diastolic function indices and ABPM data from 2015 to 2022 in adolescents age 13–21 years were analyzed retrospectively. We found that VFT was significantly lower in adolescents with HTN compared to those without (3.69 ± 1.39 vs. 4.50 ± 1.73, p = 0.02). Standard echocardiographic indices of systolic and diastolic function were similar between the two groups. Higher overall systolic blood pressure (SBP) (β = -0.01, CI -0.02, -2.2 x 10 − 3 , p = 0.02), mean wake SBP (β = -0.01, CI -0.02, -9.4 x 10 − 4 , p = 0.03) and mean sleep SBP (β = -0.01, CI -0.02, -1.2 x 10 − 3 , p = 0.03) were significantly associated with lower VFT. This study demonstrates that VFT correlates to ABPM data and can be used as a novel diagnostic measure of early diastolic dysfunction in adolescents with HTN.