Introduction: The study sought to evaluate changes in left ventricular (LV) strain and native T1/T2 mapping characteristics on cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) in patients with high-normal blood pressure (HNBP).
Methods: A prospective case-control study including 25 cases having HNBP and 25 age- and sex-matched healthy controls was conducted. LV strain was evaluated on CMR using feature tracking and 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional longitudinal, circumferential and radial strain values were calculated. Native T1/T2 mapping values were also calculated.
Results: Subclinical impairment of LV mechanics was evident in the form of deranged LV strain parameters in cases with HNBP compared to controls. The two-dimensional global radial (25.34±3.06 vs. 28.52±5.69; P=0.0323), global circumferential (-16.05±1.31 vs. -17.27±2.23; P=0.0241) and global longitudinal strain (-16.33±2.24 vs. -16.49±7.25); P=0.0193) and three-dimensional global circumferential strain (-13.94±10.81 vs. -17.84±2.78; P=0.0133) values were significantly impaired in cases compared to controls. No significant difference was observed in the native T1/T2 mapping parameters.
Conclusion: LV strain parameters are significantly deranged in patients with HNBP, compared to healthy controls, in the absence of other morphological changes or interstitial fibrosis. Impaired LV strain parameters can serve as a new marker for detection of subclinical myocardial dysfunction in patients with HNBP having preserved chamber function.
Keywords: Blood pressure; Global longitudinal strain; Heart ventricles; Magnetic resonance imaging.
© 2026 The Author(s).