Objective: The objective of this study was to compare clinical and ultrasonographic findings in 20 consecutive hypertensive Black Africans, with those of 20 hypertensive White Europeans matched for age in order to study modifications of left ventricular (VG) geometry.
Method: 20 consecutive Black men (B), recently emigrated from Africa and applying for asylum, referred for HT, were assessed by measuring systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and pulse pressure (PP), body mass index (BMI), echocardiography with measurement of the end-diastolic thickness of the septum, posterior wall (Epp), LV diameter (DTD), calculation of the LV mass index (LVMI) according to the Penn convention and the thickness/radius ratio (t/r). These subjects were matched for age with 20 consecutive European White men (W) sent to the echocardiography laboratory for assessment of HT, in whom the same parameters were measured.
Results: The mean age was 41.6 +/- 9.2 (B) vs 42.1 +/- 8.8 years (W) (NS). The BMI was 26.3 +/- 3.2 (B) vs 27.3 +/- 3.4 (W) (NS). SBP was 175 +/- 24 (B) vs 156 +/- 15 mmHg (W) (p < 0.01). DBP was 108 +/- 13 (B) vs 94 +/- 9 mmHg (W) (p < 0.01). PP was 67 +/- 20 (B) vs 63 +/- 10 mmHg (W) (NS). LVMI was 131 +/- 43 (B) vs 91 +/- 19 g/m2 (W) (p = 0.001). The t/r ratio was 0.48 +/- 0.08 (B) vs 0.38 +/- 0.07 (W) (p < 0.001). DTD was 47.1 +/- 3.9 (B) vs 48.6 +/- 4.4 mm (W) (NS). Epp was 11.2 +/- 1.9 (B) vs 9.1 +/- 1.4 mm (W) (p < 0.001). A poor correlation was observed between SBP and LVMI (r = 0.23, p = 0.17), and between SBP and t/r (r = 0.21, p = 0.21).
Conclusion: Compared to a age-matched population of European hypertensive patients with similar morphology, our homogeneous group of recently emigrated patients was characterized by a greater severity of HT and the presence of concentric left ventricular hypertrophy. The marked difference in socio-economic status and access to care of these two populations must be stressed.