OBJECTIVE:To investigate whether left ventricular mass (LVM) appropriateness may be related to left atrial changes in both size and performance in arterial hypertension. METHODS:Three hundred and thirty-five hypertensive outpatients were studied by Doppler echocardiography and divided into two groups on the basis of LVM appropriateness. Left ventricular mass was defined inappropriate when greater than 128% of the value predicted from age, sex and stroke work (95th percentile of normal distribution) and appropriate for values