Ultrasonic Measurement of Left Ventricular Mass Index of Hypertensive and Normotensive Adults in a Tertiary Hospital in South-South Nigeria

Background: Hypertension is a known cause of heart disease which may manifest as an increase in left ventricular mass index. Echocardiography is a painless, safe and reliable test using sound waves for measuring Left Ventricular Mass (LVM) from which Left Ventricular Mass Index (LVMI) can be derived.

Aims and Objectives: This study was aimed at evaluating and comparing the ultrasonic measurement of the left ventricular mass index of hypertensive patients and normotensive participants and correlating the Left Ventricular Mass Index (LVMI) to the Body Mass Index (BMI) and Gender in the study populations.

Methodology: This was a prospective hospital-based case-control study of adult hypertensive participants and normotensive controls. Echocardiography was done with measurements of the Left Ventricular Mass (LVM) obtained. The LVMI of the study groups was correlated to their BMI and gender.

Results: The mean BMI was statistically higher in the hypertensive group (25.98 4.40 kg/m2) (p-value=0.001).The mean Left Ventricular Mass Index (LVMI) was significantly higher in the hypertensive group (79.5961.67g/m2.7) than in normotensive group (55.36 34.77g/m2.7) (p-value 0.0001). In this study, the high BMI category (obese/overweight) was the strongest predictors of LVMI above 51g/m2.7 (p-value= 0.0001) and females were almost 1.8 times more likely to have increased LVMI than men

Conclusion: This study revealed that the female gender, BMI and hypertension were significant predictors of increased left ventricular mass index. High BMI category (obese/overweight) was the strongest predictors of LVMI above 51g/m2.7. Periodic ultrasonic measurement of the ventricular mass index will help in early detection and reducing this common and potentially modifiable risk that leads to increased morbidity and mortality.