STUDY OF LEFT VENTRICLE MASS AT THE TIME OF DIAGNOSIS IN HYPERTENSIVE PATIENTS

Background: Hypertension is a significant public health issue that affects people all over the world.In India, hypertension affects 5-15 percent of the adult population. In this study we aim at recording incidence of LVH at the time of diagnosis in a tertiary hospital. Aims & Objectives: To monitor Left Ventricular Geometry in newly diagnosed hypertensives, and to study if there is a link between LVH & other indices of target organ damage. Materials & Methods: Hospital based Prospective Analytical study was done in 100 Patients selected by random sampling procedure matching the inclusion criteria. A pretested pro forma was used Follow up was done on inpatient admission and on outpatient department basis. Results: 78 OP & 22 IP patients were studied of which 68 were male and 32 were female LVH was seen in 27% study sample,In the present study, it was observed that there is significant correlation between the prevalence of microalbuminuria and the presence of LVH (P < 0.001) and LV dysfunction (P < 0.002) in hypertensive patients. Hypertensive patients with microalbuminuria were 9.4 times more likely to develop LVH than patients with normal UAE (95% CI: 4.2 - 21.6). ? Conclusion: LVH at the time of diagnosis of hypertension has higher risk of presence of other target organ damages, hence can be used as indicator for prognosis and need for strict monitoring and control of blood pressure recordings with regular follow ups.