Abstract:
Background: Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is an independent cardiovascular risk factor in patients with essential
hypertension. The main objective of this study was to assess the echocardiographic prevalence of left ventricular
hypertrophy in patients with hypertension, its risk factors and effect of antihypertensive drugs on its prevalence.
Methods: A hospital based cross sectional study was conducted on 200 hypertensive patients on treatment in
southwest Ethiopia. A pretested structured questionnaire was used to collect data from participants and their
clinical records. Blood pressure and anthropometric measurements were taken according to recommended
standards. Left ventricular mass was measured by transthoracic echocardiography. Associations between categorical
variables were assessed using chi-square test and odds ratio with 95% confidence interval. Logistic regression
model was done to identify risks factors of LVH. P values of < 0.05 were considered as statistically significant.
Results: The mean age, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and body mass index were 55.7 ±
11.3 years, 139.2 ± 7.7 mmHg, 89.2 ± 5.7 mmHg and 24.2 ± 3.4 Kg/m2 respectively. The overall prevalence of LVH
among these study subjects was 52%. Age ≥50 years (OR: 3.49, 95% CI 1.33-9.14, P = 0.011), female gender (OR: 7.69,
95% CI 3.23-20.0, P < 0.001), systolic blood pressure ≥140 mmHg (OR: 2.85, 95% CI 1.27-6.41, P = 0.011), and duration
of hypertension (OR: 3.59, 95% CI 1.47-8.76, P = 0.005) were independent predictors of left ventricular hypertrophy.
Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors were the only antihypertensive drugs associated with lower risk of
left ventricular hypertrophy (OR: 0.08, 95% CI 0.03-0.19, p < 0.001).
Conclusions: Left ventricular hypertrophy was found to be highly prevalent in hypertensive patients in Ethiopia. ACE
inhibitors were the only antihypertensive drugs associated with reduced risk of LVH. We thus recommend strategies to
early detect and treat hypertension and to timely screen for LVH among patients with hypertension. Multicenter
prospective studies in Africa settings would be ideal to identify the best antihypertensive agents in black Africans
