What is the role of silent coronary artery disease and left ventricular hypertrophy in the genesis of ventricular arrhythmias in men with essential hypertension?

Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco.

Ventricular arrhythmias are not uncommon in patients with hypertension, are often attributed to left ventricular hypertrophy and are thought to be associated with an increased risk of sudden death. However, underlying silent coronary artery disease, another potential cause of ventricular arrhythmias, is often present in the same patient group. Therefore, the prevalence of ventricular arrhythmias was prospectively examined in 183 consecutive asymptomatic men with hypertension with neither clinical nor electrocardiographic (ECG) evidence of coronary artery disease in whom technically adequate echocardiograms could be obtained. After previous therapy had been withdrawn for greater than or equal to 4 days, each patient underwent exercise or dipyridamole thallium-201 scintigraphy, 48-h Holter ambulatory ECG monitoring and echocardiography for measurement of the left ventricular mass index. Forty patients (22%) had frequent ventricular ectopic activity, defined on the basis of greater than 10 premature ventricular complexes/h (38 patients) or ventricular tachycardia (11 patients), or both. A higher proportion of patients with than without a reversible thallium-201 defect had frequent premature ventricular complexes (33% vs. 18%, p less than 0.02) or ventricular tachycardia (14% vs. 4%, p less than 0.02). Similarly, more patients with than without left ventricular hypertrophy (defined as left ventricular mass index greater than or equal to 134 g/m2) had frequent premature ventricular complexes (29% vs. 15%, p less than 0.05) and ventricular tachycardia (12% vs. 2%, p less than 0.01). By stepwise logistic regression analysis, both findings were independent predictors of ventricular arrhythmia, which was present in 53% of patients with both abnormalities, but in only 12% of those with neither abnormality.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. Vaccari, R. Crepaz, M. Fortini, M. R. Gamberini, S. Scarcia, W. Pitscheider, and G. Bosi Left Ventricular Remodeling, Systolic Function, and Diastolic Function in Young Adults With {beta}-Thalassemia Intermedia : A Doppler Echocardiography Study Chest, February 1, 2002; 121(2): 506 - 512. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. P. Burke, A. Farb, Y.-h. Liang, J. Smialek, and R. Virmani Effect of Hypertension and Cardiac Hypertrophy on Coronary Artery Morphology in Sudden Cardiac Death Circulation, December 15, 1996; 94(12): 3138 - 3145. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				E. D. Frohlich, D. Aristizabal, F. Soria, and F. H. Messerli Investigative Concerns in Demonstrating Reduced Risk from Reversing Left Ventricular Hypertrophy Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology and Therapeutics, January 1, 1996; 1(1): 17 - 22. [Abstract] [PDF]