Correlates of Left Ventricular Hypertrophy in a Sub-Urban Low-Income Community in Enugu. A Community-Based Study

The prevalence of left ventricular is on the increase, especially in the developing world probably because of high rates of cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension. Inter-ethnic differences in the prevalence of left ventricular hypertrophy have been demonstrated.

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of left ventricular hypertrophy in a community and the associated risk factors.

This was a cross-sectional descriptive study carried out in the Enugu State southeast Nigeria. Electrocardiography was conducted using the standard protocols. Left ventricular hypertrophy was diagnosed according to the Sokolow-Lyon criterion. For database management and statistical analyses, we used the SPSS version 26 (IBM Corporation, New York, NY, USA).

The electrocardiograms of 324 participants were analyzed. Left ventricular hypertrophy was diagnosed in 73 (22.5%), slightly more frequent in males (28.3%) versus 19.1% in females (P = 0.06(. About 18.4% of those with normal systolic blood pressure and 19.6% of those with normal diastolic blood had left ventricular hypertrophy. This increased to 47.4% and 38.1% in those with severe high diastolic and systolic blood pressure measurements, respectively. About 27.5% of the participants with hypertension had left ventricular hypertrophy, whereas 32.9% of newly diagnosed hypertensives had left ventricular hypertrophy. Using Spearman's correlation statistic, left ventricular hypertrophy strongly correlated with systolic hypertension r (P value) =0.12 (0.01); however, the correlation with diastolic hypertension was weak r (P value) =0.1 (0.06). There was a weak positive correlation between gender and left ventricular hypertrophy r (P value) =0.11 (0.06).

The prevalence of left ventricular hypertrophy was 22.5% in a community study in Enugu even among those without hypertension. Public health education on the need for regular cardiovascular checks is advocated even among those with and without hypertension.