Correlation between hypertension cardiopathies and atherosclerosis in the aortic artery

Abstract

Systemic arterial hypertension is a multifactorial disease, behaving as a triggering factor for cardiovascular diseases and atherosclerosis. The objective was to describe the association of age, gender, skin color and, the atherosclerosis level in the aortic artery in hypertensive cardiopathy of autopsied individuals. We assessed 34 parts of abdominal aortic arteries of autopsied individuals with hypertensive cardiopathy (20) and without hypertensive cardiopathy (14). We collected age, gender, skin color and cause of death from the autopsy report; the quantification of the atherosclerosis intensity and the atherosclerosis level were determined using a standardized scale. In this study, the cause of death and atherosclerosis intensity had a significant association with hypertensive cardiopathy; there was a prevalence of large atheroma plaques among individuals with this entity. Thus, atherosclerosis should be investigated in individuals with hypertensive cardiopathy to prevent severe repercussions which could lead to death.