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Prevalence of left ventricular hypertrophy in a general population; The Tromsø Study

H Schirmer1, P Lunde, K Rasmussen

  • 1Institute of Community Medicine, University of Tromsø, Norway.

European Heart Journal
|April 23, 1999
PubMed

Insights

New criteria for left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) were developed using population percentiles. High body mass index is a key risk factor for LVH, suggesting weight reduction is crucial for prevention and treatment.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Echocardiography
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is a significant predictor of cardiovascular morbidity.
  • Traditional LVH definitions may not account for skewed distributions of left ventricular mass.
  • Accurate LVH prevalence estimation is crucial for understanding cardiovascular risk in diverse populations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop novel criteria for LVH using population-based percentiles of left ventricular mass.
  • To assess the impact of these criteria on LVH prevalence estimates across subgroups.
  • To examine the relationship between LVH and cardiovascular risk factors in a general population.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized M-mode echocardiography to estimate left ventricular mass in a population-based sample of 3287 adults (aged 25-85).
  • Defined sex-specific LVH criteria using the 97.5th percentile of left ventricular mass by height from a 'healthy' reference subgroup.
  • Analyzed predictors of LVH and their associations with cardiovascular risk factors.

Main Results:

  • Established sex-specific LVH criteria: 97.5th percentiles were 145.5 g.m(-1) for men and 125.4 g.m(-1) for women.
  • Reported LVH prevalences of 14.9% in men and 9.1% in women.
  • Identified male gender, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, valvular heart disease, cardiovascular disease, and antihypertensive medication as key predictors; noted a synergistic association between BMI and systolic blood pressure in men.

Conclusions:

  • Introduced an alternative framework for defining left ventricular hypertrophy based on population percentiles.
  • Highlighted body mass index as a primary risk factor for LVH.
  • Emphasized weight reduction as a critical intervention for the treatment and prevention of LVH in the general population.
Abstract

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