Prehypertension was defined as systolic blood pressure between 120 and 139 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure between 80 and 89 mmHg by the Executive Committee of the Joint National Committee for Prevention, Detection, Evaluation and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC 7) in 2003 [1]. Current books and publications strongly show the relationship between prehypertension with subclinical atherosclerosis and target organ damage [2,3].

Although lifestyle changes are prioritized in the treatment processes of prehypertensive patients, drug treatment can be started in patients with high cardiovascular risk or cardiovascular damage. Although there are many markers of cardiovascular damage, left ventricular global longitudinal strain (LV-GLS) is frequently used in studies. However, since LV-GLS is not a fast and practical method in daily practice, we will try to predict cardiac damage with a more practical parameter that can be easily calculated with 12‑lead ECG.

The QRS-T angle (QRS-Ta) is the planar calculation of the angle between the ventricular depolarization and repolarization vectors in the electrocardiogram (ECG) [4]. Although the normal limit of QRS-Ta was determined as 450 to 600, many different cut-offs have emerged according to gender and age [5,6]. Although different normal values have been found for QRS-Ta, as a general rule, the association of increased QRS-Ta with cardiovascular mortality has been proven with very strong data [7,8].

Left ventricular global longitudinal strain (LV-GLS) is an advanced echocardiographic examination that has proven successful in subclinical cardiac evaluation [9,10]. It has been shown that LV-GLS decreases in hypertension patients, and mortality is higher in these patients [11].

In this study, we will predict subclinical cardiac damage in prehypertensive patients and detect LV-GLS, which may be useful in deciding the treatment of these patients. Then, we will investigate the relationship between QRS-Ta and LV-GLS, which can be calculated easily and practically with a 12‑lead ECG.