Correlates of Left Ventricular Hypertrophy in a Sub-Urban Low-Income Community in Enugu. A Community-Based Study

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of left ventricular is on the increase, especially in the developing world probably because of high rates of cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension. Inter-ethnic differences in the prevalence of left ventricular hypertrophy have been demonstrated. AIM: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of left ventricular hypertrophy in a community and the associated risk factors. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study carried out in the Enugu State southeast Nigeria. Electrocardiography was conducted using the standard protocols. Left ventricular hypertrophy was diagnosed according to the Sokolow-Lyon criterion. For database management and statistical analyses, we used the SPSS version 26 (IBM Corporation, New York, NY, USA). RESULTS: The electrocardiograms of 324 participants were analyzed. Left ventricular hypertrophy was diagnosed in 73 (22.5%), slightly more frequent in males (28.3%) versus 19.1% in females (P = 0.06(. About 18.4% of those with normal systolic blood pressure and 19.6% of those with normal diastolic blood had left ventricular hypertrophy. This increased to 47.4% and 38.1% in those with severe high diastolic and systolic blood pressure measurements, respectively. About 27.5% of the participants with hypertension had left ventricular hypertrophy, whereas 32.9% of newly diagnosed hypertensives had left ventricular hypertrophy. Using Spearman's correlation statistic, left ventricular hypertrophy strongly correlated with systolic hypertension r (P value) =0.12 (0.01); however, the correlation with diastolic hypertension was weak r (P value) =0.1 (0.06). There was a weak positive correlation between gender and left ventricular hypertrophy r (P value) =0.11 (0.06). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of left ventricular hypertrophy was 22.5% in a community study in Enugu even among those without hypertension. Public health education on the need for regular cardiovascular checks is advocated even among those with and without hypertension.