Left Ventricular Hypertrophy in Hypertension

The adverse effect of left ventricular hypertrophy, as measured by the weight of the heart on the pathologist's scale, was recognized in the early part of this century, even before routine measurements of arterial pressure or electrocardiography was available. With the advent of sphygmomanometry, it soon became apparent that hypertension was a major factor in the development and progression of left ventricular hypertrophy. Observational studies on the natural history of hypertension underscored the importance of electrocardiographic findings as a prognostic factor.1 The landmark studies of the Framingham investigators were among the first to quantify the clinical risk of left ventricular . . .