Electrocardiographic Criteria of Left Ventricular Hypertrophy

Soon after the advent of clinical electrocardiography it was recognized by Einthoven and others that characteristic deviations occur in association with hypertrophy of the cardiac chambers. Important contributions were made by several early investigators,1but for a long time interest in electrocardiography was focused chiefly on differentiation of the arrhythmias and the diagnosis of myocardial disease, with little emphasis on the clinical value of the electrocardiogram as a means of detecting cardiac hypertrophy. While the association of characteristic electrocardiographic patterns with hypertrophy of the various cardiac chambers is well recognized, the mechanism of these changes remains a subject of some controversy, and specific criteria for the electrocardiographic diagnosis of hypertrophy have not been established. The present investigation was actuated by the necessity of establishing specific electrocardiographic criteria of left ventricular hypertrophy in connection with a study on prognosis of hypertension.2It was felt, and the belief was subsequently