Year: 2026
Type: review
Abstract: Arterial hypertension remains the leading modifiable cause of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality resulting in characteristic changes in cardiac structure and function. Contemporary hypertension clinical guidelines increasingly emphasise prevention and early detection of hypertension-mediated organ damage, yet they differ in how blood pressure is categorised and when further investigation is recommended. Within this prevention-focused landscape and alongside a broader cardio-renal-metabolic framework, this review provides a practical overview on the role of echocardiography in arterial hypertension by integrating contemporary hypertension guidelines with imaging consensus documents. We outline when echocardiography is most likely to add value in hypertension and review echocardiographic assessment of left ventricular structure and geometry, systolic and diastolic function and filling pressures, atrial remodelling, right ventricular assessment, valvular heart disease and the aorta. Practical indications for scanning and transoesophageal echocardiography considerations are discussed. Finally, we highlight future directions including prevention-focused pathways, scalable echocardiography strategies, routine inclusion of contemporaneous blood pressure in reports, artificial intelligence-enabled quantification and selective multimodality imaging within specialist hypertension services.
Source: Echo Research and Practice
Institutions: St Bartholomew's Hospital, Queen Mary University of London, Barts Health NHS Trust, William Harvey Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic London, Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, University of Cambridge, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Language: English
Subfield: Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,390
Award: G8471988961
OpenAlex ID: W7166450345