PREVALENCE AND DETERMINANTS OF ECHOCARDIOGRAPHIC LEFT VENTRICULAR HYPERTROPHY AMONG HYPERTENSIVE PATIENTS IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

 Objectives: This cross-sectional study was conducted during the year 2014–15 to determine the prevalence, pattern, and factors associated with left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) among hypertensive patients attending a tertiary care hospital.Methods: A total of 400 eligible adult patients having essential hypertension were included in this study. After obtaining informed consent, all participants were examined with echocardiography and relevant information was collected using a well-structured questionnaire.Results: The mean age of study population was 52.3 ± 12.8 in years. Mean systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was 149.8 ± 11.2 and 94.7 ± 4.9 mmHg, respectively. Among the study participants, 266 (66.5%) had LVH and concentric hypertrophy was the predominant (64.3%) LV geometric pattern. Multivariate logistic regression revealed that obesity, SBP, and DBP had significant positive association with LVH (p<0.05).Conclusion: Liberal use of echocardiography in hypertensive patients could be useful in early diagnosis of LVH and guiding treatment decision. There should be emphasis on controlling SBP, DBP, and body mass index of hypertensive patients so that further cardiovascular complications can be prevented