Comparison of Araoye's criteria with standard electrocardiographic criteria for diagnosis of left ventricular hypertrophy in Nigerian hypertensives

Electrocardiographic Left Ventricular Hypertrophy Among Gambian Diabetes Mellitus Patients

BACKGROUND

The global prevalence of diabetes and its complications is increasing worldwide. Its role in coronary heart disease has been linked with the presence of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). The present study aims to determine the prevalence of electrocardiographic left ventricular hypertrophy (ECG-LVH) in adult diabetic subjects, its epidemiological and clinical correlates.

METHODS

A descriptive cross-sectional study involving 534 patients was conducted at the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital (formerly Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital), The Gambia. Four hundred and forty patients were included using a standard questionnaire. Anthropometry, laboratory investigations and electrocardiogram were carried out. We used the Lewis, Cornell, and Sokolow-Lyon Voltage criteria to define ECG-LVH. Minitab™ statistical software version 13.20 was used for analysis.

RESULTS

146 (35.2%) patients had ECG-LVH using all 3 criteria and this prevalence was higher among women being 116 (79.5%). A generally high prevalence of overweight (155/37.4%) and obesity (119/28.6%) was observed among study participants, and both clinic-day systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP) were significantly higher in those with ECG-LVH. Poor diabetes control was observed in both groups.

CONCLUSION

There was a high prevalence of ECG-LVH and it is especially so with combining multiple criteria, hence the need for screening. Clinic-day hypertension was associated with ECG-LVH hence the need for diagnosing and aggressive treatment of hypertension in patients with diabetes mellitus.

Impact of prehypertension on left ventricular mass and QT dispersion in adult black Nigerians

Background

Prehypertension has been associated with target-organ damage. This study sought to determine the impact of prehypertension (PHT) on QT dispersion and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in adult black Nigerians.

Methods

One hundred and one subjects with office blood pressure (BP) < 140/90 mmHg were categorised according to their office BP into normotensive (BP < 120/80 mmHg, n = 57) and prehypertensive (BP 120–139/80–89 mmHg, n = 44) groups. Echocardiography and electrocardiography (ECG) were performed on the subjects.

Results

Thirty-four males aged 53.65 ± 16.33 years and 67 females aged 52.42 ± 12.00 years were studied. The mean QT interval dispersion (QTd) of the normotensive (38.96 ± 11.06 ms) and prehypertensive (38.41 ± 11.81 ms) groups were similar (p = 0.81). Prehypertensive subjects had higher left ventricular mass (LVM) (165.75 ± 33.21 vs 144.54 ± 35.55 g, p = 0.024), left ventricular mass index 1 (LVMI-1) (91.65 ± 16.84 vs 80.45 ± 18.65 g/m², p = 0.021) and left ventricular mass index 2 (LVMI-2) (54.96 ± 10.84 vs 47.51 ± 12.00 g/m^2.7, p = 0.017). QTd was independent of echocardiographic and electrocardiographic LVH (p > 0.05).

Conclusion

Compared with normotension, prehypertension is associated with higher LVM but similar QTd. This suggests that structural remodelling precedes electrical remodelling in prehypertension.

Assessment of voltage criteria for left ventricular hypertrophy in adult hypertensives in south-western Nigeria

BACKGROUND

Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is a common pathophysiological consequence of hypertension. Various voltage (ECG) criteria exist for evaluation of LVH. This study assessed the performance of 4 commonly used ECG criteria in south-western Nigeria.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A cross-sectional descriptive study of adult hypertensive subjects. Participants were assessed for LVH using 4 ECG criteria: Sokolow-Lyon, Araoye code system, Cornell voltage, and Gubner-Ungerleider criteria. Echocardiography was used to determine the left ventricular mass index for the participants, and a value greater than 125 g/m(2) was used as the cut-off point for LVH. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive and negative predictive values were determined for each of the ECG criteria.

RESULTS

90 subjects (45 males, 45 females) participated in the study. The prevalence of LVH by echocardiography was 32.2%. The prevalence of LVH by voltage criteria were: 45.6%, 42.2%, 34.4%, 13.3% by Sokolow-Lyon, Araoye code system, Cornell, and Gubner-Ungerleider criteria, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity respectively of the ECG criteria were 58.62% and 60.66% (Sokolow-Lyon), 48.28% and 60.65% (Araoye code system), 51.72% and 73.77% (Cornell), and 13.79% and 86.89% (Gubner-Ungerleider).

CONCLUSION

Out of the 4 ECG criteria, Araoye code system, Cornell and Sokolow-Lyon criteria compared favorably well with echocardiography and may be used in the initial assessment of LVH in adult hypertensive subjects. However, a combination of any of the 3 criteria with Gubner-Ungerleider criterion will be more clinically useful.

Target-organ damage and cardiovascular complications in hypertensive Nigerian Yoruba adults: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Hypertension is a major challenge to public health as it is frequently associated with sudden death due to the silent nature of the condition. By the time of diagnosis, some patients would have developed target-organ damage (TOD) and associated clinical conditions (ACC) due to low levels of detection, treatment and control. TOD and ACC are easy to evaluate in a primary healthcare (PHC) setting and offer valuable information for stratifying cardiovascular risks in the patient. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and correlates of TOD and established cardiovascular disease (CVD) in hypertensive Nigerian adults.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted on 2 000 healthy Yoruba adults between 18 and 64 years who lived in a rural community in south-western Nigeria. Participants diagnosed to have hypertension were examined for TOD and ACC by the presence of electrocardiographically determined left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), microalbuminuria or proteinuria, retinopathy, or history of myocardial infarction and stroke.

RESULTS

A total of 415 hypertensive participants were examined and of these, 179 (43.1%) had evidence of TOD and 45 (10.8%) had established CVD. TOD was associated with significantly higher systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP). The prevalence of LVH was 27.9%, atrial fibrillation 16.4%, microalbuminuria 12.3%, proteinuria 15.2%, hypertensive retinopathy 2.2%, stroke 6.3%, congestive heart failure (CHF) 4.6%, ischaemic heart disease 1.7%, and peripheral vascular disease 3.6%. Compared with those with normal blood pressure (BP), the multivariate adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence interval) of developing TOD was 3.61 (0.59-8.73) for those with newly diagnosed hypertension; 4.76 (1.30-13.06) for those with BP ≥ 180/110 mmHg; and 1.85 (0.74-8.59) for those with diabetes mellitus.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides new data on TOD and its correlates in a nationally representative sample of hypertensive adults in Nigeria. In this low-resource setting, attempts should be made to detect hypertensive patients early within the community and manage them appropriately before irreversible organ damage and complications set in. The methods used in this study are simple and adaptable at the primary healthcare level for planning prevention and intervention programmes.