Use of Doppler Echocardiography as a Prognostic Marker in Evaluating Hypertensive Patients with and without left Ventricular Hypertrophy - A Hospital Based Study in Vellore

摘要

Background: The number of individuals with hypertension in India is increasing rapidly, however, the awareness, detection, treatment and control rates are very poor. The incidence of cardiomyopathies such as Left ventricular Hypertrophy (LVH) is seen to be quite high in patients with hypertension. In addition to this, metabolic diseases like diabetes mellitus, obesity and hyperlipidemia may increase the incidence of cardiovascular changes such as Left ventricular Hypertrophy. LVH plays a prognostic risk factor in hypertensive patients. Methods: M-mode echocardiography, Blood pressure measurements and biochemical analyses for all the patients- Hypertensive (n=25); Hypertensive with LVH (n=25); LVH (n=25) and Normotensive (n=25) were carried out. The statistical analyses were performed using MATLAB software. Results: The high prevalence of LVH in Hypertensive patients on echocardiography implies that these patients require detailed cardiovascular evaluation despite absence of symptoms. Conclusion: The Doppler echocardiography outcomes have shown to be useful substitute marker for prognosis and intervention studies. New Doppler echocardiographic techniques with much accuracy to investigate subclinical condition will benefit further for this group of patient at excessive cardiovascular risk.