Key result
Hypertension in a pooled cohort of 74,632 patients was associated with a 36.6% (95% CI 33.4-40%) prevalence of left ventricular hypertrophy, with a lower probability in men than women (OR 0.62).
Why the study?
An updated meta-analysis evaluating the prevalence of echocardiographic left ventricular hypertrophy over the last 15 years was lacking.
Meta-Analysis (n=74,632)
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
The contemporary prevalence of LVH in hypertensive patients remains high at 36.6%, highlighting the need for more aggressive treatment of hypertension, particularly in women.
AIM: An updated meta-analysis targeting the prevalence of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), a cardinal marker of hypertensive heart disease (HHD), over the last 15 years is lacking. Thus, we analyzed the literature in order to provide a comprehensive information on LVH prevalence, as assessed by echocardiography, in the hypertensive setting. METHODS: The PubMed, OVID-MEDLINE, and Cochrane Library databases were analyzed to search English-language articles published from 1 January 2011 up to 31 December 2025. Studies were identified by using MeSH terms and crossing the following search items: 'left ventricular hypertrophy', 'left ventricular mass', 'hypertensive heart disease', 'echocardiography', 'hypertension', and 'subclinical cardiac damage'. RESULTS: A total of 51 studies including 74 632 hypertensive patients were considered. Overall, the prevalence of LVH in the pooled cohort, defined according to criteria recommended by echocardiographic guidelines, was 36.6% (95% CI: 33.4-40%). Data provided by 18 studies (n = 40 108 patients) showed that the probability of having LVH was lower in men than in women (OR = 0.62, CI: 0.48-0.80, P < 0.0001). Among patients with LVH (17 studies), the risk of concentric LVH was almost twice as high as eccentric (OR = 1.94, CI: 1.52-2.49, P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: Our meta-analysis suggests that the high contemporary prevalence of LVH reflects the failure of therapeutic strategies worldwide in the prevention and treatment of HHD. From a clinical perspective, these data imply the need for a more aggressive treatment of hypertension and related cardiovascular risk factors leading to LVH, especially in women.
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Gherbesi et al. (2026) conducted a meta-analysis in Hypertension (n=74,632). Hypertension was evaluated on Prevalence of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) (95% CI 33.4-40). Hypertension in a pooled cohort of 74,632 patients was associated with a 36.6% (95% CI 33.4-40%) prevalence of left ventricular hypertrophy, with a lower probability in men than women (OR 0.62).
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