Correlation between echocardiographic left ventricular hypertrophy and microalbuminuria among hypertensive subjects in Olabisi Onabanjo university teaching hospital, Sagamu, Nigeria

Background: Left ventricular hypertrophy is an adaptive response to volume and/or pressure overload, especially in hypertensive subjects. Microalbuminuria is a well-known predictor of poor cardiovascular outcomes in patients with hypertension. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of microalbuminuria in hypertensive subjects and its relationship with LVH defined by echocardiogram in adult hypertensive subjects.Methods: The study was a cross-sectional comparative one involving 88 hypertensive volunteers with age and sex-matched normotensive controls. Detailed history, physical examination, urine assessment for microalbuminuria and echocardiogram were carried out on all participants.Results: The overall prevalence rate of microalbuminuria in the study was 29.5%. The prevalence of microalbuminuria in hypertensive subjects (43.2%) was significantly higher than in the normotensive counterparts (15.9%) (p=0.001). The prevalence of microalbuminuria in hypertensive subjects with echocardiographic LVH (81.0%) was significantly higher than in hypertensive participants without echocardiographic LVH (31.3%) (p=0.001). There was a positive correlation between left ventricular mass defined by echocardiogram and urinary albumin excretion in hypertensive subjects (r =0.422, p= 0.001).Conclusions: There is a high prevalence of microalbuminuria among hypertensive adults, especially those with left ventricular hypertrophy. There is also a positive correlation between echocardiographic left ventricular mass and urinary albumin excretion among adult hypertensive subjects.