Left ventricular hypertrophy, geometric patterns and clinical correlates among treated hypertensive Nigerians.

Background: Left ventricular hypertrophy can be due to various reasons including hypertension. It constitutes an increased cardiovascular risk. Various left ventricular geometric patterns occur in hypertension and may affect the cardiovascular risk profile of hypertensive subjects.

Methods: One hundred and eighty eight hypertensive participated in this study. Left ventricular hypertrophy was diagnosed by echocardiography. Relative wall thickness was derived by 2 × PWT/LVIDd. Subjects were arbitrarily categorized according to the duration of hypertension. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS 15.0.

Results: The mean age of the study population was 55.95±10.71 years. Subjects who had hypertension for >5 years were more likely to be older and had a lower ejection fraction, larger left ventricular diastolic internal dimension than those with duration of hypertension <5 years. Concentric remodeling was the commonest left ventricular geometric pattern among the hypertensive subjects closely followed by normal left ventricular geometry. Concentric hypertrophy and eccentric hypertrophy were rare among the study population.Left ventricular geometry was associated mainly with left ventricular chamber and wall dimensions.

Conclusion: Concentric remodeling is the commonest pattern of left ventricular geometric pattern of the left ventricle among hypertensive subjects. Left ventricular geometry is associated with the chamber and wall dimensions. Eccentric hypertrophy is associated with the lowest left ventricular systolic function and therefore possibly an herald to progressive systolic impairment.