[Left ventricular geometry in inhabitants of Tallinn (an echocardiographic population study)]

Echocardiography was performed in 325 men and 398 women in the framework of a population survey of inhabitants of Tallinn aged 35 to 59 years in 1999-2001. Left ventricular geometry was analyzed according to generally recognized four types. Prevalence of concentric hypertrophy was similar in men and women (7.7% and 9.1%, respectively). In all age groups prevalence of eccentric hypertrophy in women was 4-10-fold higher than in men (33.3 and 4.9%, respectively). Concentric remodeling was also more frequent in women than in men (9.5 and 5.5%; respectively, p<0.05). Regardless of sex and age, concentric hypertrophy was never found in participants with normal blood pressure. In hypertensives there was a tendency for age-related increase of prevalence of concentric hypertrophy: the latter was higher in women than in men (39.1% and 25.5%; respectively, p<0.05). In examinees with body mass index (BMI) <30 this type was rare. In obese persons its frequency increased with age in both sexes reaching 26.5% in men and 21.2% in women (p<0.05). Prevalence of eccentric hypertrophy in men increased with age, especially in the presence of hypertension and obesity. In men the prevalence of concentric remodeling was not related to BMI; it was significantly more often found in older age groups and in hypertensives. In women the prevalence of eccentric hypertrophy and concentric remodeling was not related to age, hypertension and BMI. The frequency of normal geometry decreased with age in both sexes.