Backgrounds: Elevated uric acid (UA) level is reported to be related to the development of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) which is associated with high incidence of ventricular tachycardia (VT) and sudden cardiac death. However, little is known about the association between serum UA levels and the occurrence of VT. Thus, we examined the relationship between serum UA levels and the appearance of VT in patients with LVH.
Methods: The study subjects consisted of 167 patients (110 males, mean age 67.4 ± 12.7 years) with LVH detected by echocardiography. These patients were divided into two groups based on whether VT was presented (defined by more than 5 beats, n = 27) or not (n = 140) by 24-hour Holter ECG monitoring. Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVDd), the E/A ratio and deceleration time of transmitral flow velocity were assessed by echocardiography in each group. In addition, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), sodium, potassium, hemoglobin, total bilirubin and UA were compared in each group.
Results: Echocardiographic findings did not show the difference between the two groups. However, BUN and UA levels in the VT group were significantly higher than those in the Non-VT group (p < 0.01). eGFR was significantly lower in the VT group than that in the Non-VT group (p < 0.01). A multivariate logistic regression analysis identified the UA level as an independent predictive factor for the occurrence of VT (odds ratio 1.61, 95% confidence interval 1.1-2.2, p < 0.01).
Conclusions: These results suggest that serum UA level is a useful marker for predicting ventricular arrhythmias in patients with LVH.