Left ventricular mass and diastolic filling patterns in quadriplegia and implications for effects of normal aging on the heart

Results from this study suggest that older age alone, without a concomitant increased LV wall stress, at least in the presence of quadriplegia, does not produce increased cardiac mass. Instead, mass was actually decreased in the older quadriplegic subjects, an opposite change from that found with aging in normal subjects. These data regarding the importance of afterload on LV mass are supported by evidence that a reduction in cardiac load by antihypertensive medication can reverse LV hypertrophy, even in the elderly.29