Background: Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is an independent cardiovascular risk factor in patients with essential hypertension. The main objective of this study was to assess the echocardiographic prevalence of left ventricular hypertrophy in patients with hypertension, its risk factors and effect of antihypertensive drugs on its prevalence.
Methods: A hospital based cross sectional study was conducted on 200 hypertensive patients on treatment in southwest Ethiopia. A pretested structured questionnaire was used to collect data from participants and their clinical records. Blood pressure and anthropometric measurements were taken according to recommended standards. Left ventricular mass was measured by transthoracic echocardiography. Associations between categorical variables were assessed using chi-square test and odds ratio with 95% confidence interval. Logistic regression model was done to identify risks factors of LVH. P values of < 0.05 were considered as statistically significant.
Results: The mean age, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and body mass index were 55.7 ± 11.3 years, 139.2 ± 7.7 mmHg, 89.2 ± 5.7 mmHg and 24.2 ± 3.4 Kg/m2 respectively. The overall prevalence of LVH among these study subjects was 52%. Age ≥50 years (OR: 3.49, 95% CI 1.33-9.14, P = 0.011), female gender (OR: 7.69, 95% CI 3.23-20.0, P < 0.001), systolic blood pressure ≥140 mmHg (OR: 2.85, 95% CI 1.27-6.41, P = 0.011), and duration of hypertension (OR: 3.59, 95% CI 1.47-8.76, P = 0.005) were independent predictors of left ventricular hypertrophy. Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors were the only antihypertensive drugs associated with lower risk of left ventricular hypertrophy (OR: 0.08, 95% CI 0.03-0.19, p < 0.001).
Conclusions: Left ventricular hypertrophy was found to be highly prevalent in hypertensive patients in Ethiopia. ACE inhibitors were the only antihypertensive drugs associated with reduced risk of LVH. We thus recommend strategies to early detect and treat hypertension and to timely screen for LVH among patients with hypertension. Multicenter prospective studies in Africa settings would be ideal to identify the best antihypertensive agents in black Africans.