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[Left ventricular hypertrophy in a general hypertensive population in Barcelona]
1Area Básica de Salud Gòtic. Unidad Docente de Medicina Familiar y Comunitaria de Barcelona.
Background:
Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is a well known cardiac risk factor. There are no data available as to the epidemiology of this disease in the general hypertensive population in Spain.
Methods:
A randomized sample (n = 267) of a general hypertensive population under the age of 80 years was followed in a Basic Health Care Area located in the center of Barcelona, Spain. A Doppler-echocardiographic study of the patients was carried out. The patients were considered to have LVH when they demonstrated an index > 134 g/m2 of left ventricular mass in males and > 110 g/m2 in females. The odds ratio (OR) was estimated on presentation of LVH associated with exposure to different factors.
Results:
A prevalence of LVH diagnosed by echocardiogram was observed in 64% (confidence interval 95% from 58.3 to 69.8%). The independent risk factors associated with the presence of LVH were female sex, age and systolic blood pressure.
Conclusions:
Left ventricular hypertrophy is a frequent cardiovascular risk factor in the general hypertensive population in Spain. A systematic search by echocardiography cannot be recommended in primary health care until cost-effectiveness studies have been performed.