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Electrocardiograph voltage in fit young men.
Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps
|June 1, 1986
Summary
High voltage on electrocardiograms is often a normal finding in young men. This study shows it leads to a 25% false positive rate for diagnosing left ventricular hypertrophy, suggesting it
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Medical Diagnostics
- Physiology
Background:
- Electrocardiography (ECG) is used to diagnose left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH).
- Diagnostic criteria for LVH based on high voltage on ECG exist.
- The prevalence of high voltage in healthy young individuals is not well-established in relation to LVH diagnosis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of ECG criteria for LVH in healthy young adults.
- To determine the false positive rate of high voltage on ECG in predicting LVH in this population.
Main Methods:
- Study conducted on 200 healthy young male recruits.
- Participants had normal blood pressure.
- Left ventricular wall thickness assessed by echocardiography.
- ECG high voltage criteria applied to diagnose LVH.
Main Results:
- A false positive rate of approximately 25% was observed across all applied ECG criteria for LVH.
- High voltage on ECG was found to be a common finding in this cohort.
- Echocardiography confirmed normal left ventricular wall thickness in the study population.
Conclusions:
- High QRS voltage on ECG is a normal physiological finding in healthy young men.
- Using ECG high voltage criteria to diagnose LVH in young men is likely to be misleading due to a high false positive rate.
- Alternative diagnostic approaches may be necessary for LVH assessment in this demographic.