Left Ventricular Hypertrophy and Predictive Factors among Congolese Hypertensive Patients

A cross-sectional study of hypertensive patients was carried out in Brazzaville between January 2011 and December 2013. The objectives of the present study are to determine the different types of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and to identify the predictive factors of LVH. It included 556 hypertensive patients with LVH, characterized by left ventricular mass index (LVMI) > 135 g/m2 in men, and > 111 g/m2 in women. Patients’ sociodemographic data and echocardiographic parameters were gathered and analyzed. There were 342 males (61.5%) and 214 females (38.5%), with mean age 53.5 ± 11.5 years. The indications of the test were hypertension initial evaluation in 402 cases (72.3%), investigation of ischemic stroke in 62 cases (11.2%), heart failure in 58 cases (10.4%), dyspnea and chest pain in respectively 22 and 12 cases. Hypertension, old of 5.2 ± 4.5 years, was associated with overweight/obesity in 408 cases (73.4%), physical inactivity in 325 cases (58.5%), hypertension family history in 274 cases (49.3%), diabetes mellitus in 76 cases (13.7%), dyslipidemia in 63 cases (11.3%), tobacco use in 9 cases (1.6%). The prevalence of LVH was 49.4% and consisted into concentric LVH in 470 cases (84.5%), eccentric LVH in 70 cases (12.6%), and in 16 cases (2.9%), it was a concentric left ventricular remodeling. Age, male gender, seniority of hypertension and treatment were predictive factors of LVH. The latter is the most predominant abnormality in the echocardiographic profile of Congolese hypertensive patients. Efficient management on hypertension will lead to reducing its morbidity and mortality.