Community screening for left ventricular hypertrophy in patients with hypertension using hand-held echocardiography

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Medical Imaging
• Public Health

Background:

• Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) increases cardiovascular risk in hypertensive patients.
• Community-based screening for LVH is desirable for early intervention.
• Hand-held echocardiography devices offer potential for cost-effective screening.

Purpose of the Study:

• To validate the accuracy of hand-held ultrasound devices for detecting LVH in a community setting.
• To compare the performance of hand-held devices with standard echocardiography for LVH assessment.

Main Methods:

• 189 hypertensive patients underwent echocardiography using both hand-held and standard devices.
• LVH was defined by LV mass index using the Devereux-modified ASE cube equation.
• Agreement and diagnostic accuracy (sensitivity, specificity, predictive values) were calculated.

Main Results:

• No significant differences were found between hand-held and standard devices in measuring LV wall thickness or mass index.
• Agreement for LVH estimation between the two devices was 86% (kappa = 0.63).
• Hand-held devices demonstrated 72% sensitivity, 91% specificity, 73% positive predictive value, and 90% negative predictive value for LVH.

Conclusions:

• Hand-held echocardiography devices provide accurate assessment of LVH.
• These devices are suitable for community-based LVH screening in targeted hypertensive populations.
• This technology can facilitate cost-effective cardiovascular risk stratification.