Help me understand

My mother got her test results- echo shows impaired relaxation consistent with high blood pressure- What does that mean exactly. Also her EKG Interpretation: Sinus Bradycardia? I have no idea what that is...Please someone explain!!

[kenkeith]

Sinus bradycardia is heart rate less than 60 at rest (during test)...usually not significant unless very low...then a person would pass out.

Impaired relaxation and blood pressure?!  Impaired relaxation can refer to the left ventricle not relaxing and therefore there is an impairment (decrease) to the filling phase and that would not have any association with high blood pressure.  Or impaired relaxation (arteriosclerosis) can refer to the blood vessels and that would be an underlying cause for high blood pressure.

[olivermd]

impaired relaxation of left ventricle (left heart chamber that pumps blood into the arterial circulation) can occur as a result of ventricular hypertrophy. Hypertrophy describes growth or enlargement. If I were to go to the gym and do bicep curls with heavy weights my bicep muscles would hypertrophy. They'd get bigger. Your heart is a muscle. In individuals with high blood pressure, the heart has to work harder to get blood through the circulatory system. The heart has to pump blood against a higher resistance to flow. So in a sense, high blood pressure makes your heart work harder and the heart muscle hypertrophies. Unfortunately, having enlarged heart muscle isn't a good thing. It interferes with ventricular relaxation. Hence the statement impaired relaxation consistent with high blood pressure.