title: Disproportionate intraventricular septal hypertrophy in Nigerians with essential hypertension.
abstract: It is not clear how frequently hypertrophic cardiomyopathy coexists with essential hypertension or whether chronic hypertension per se, induces hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (hypertensive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy). Eighty-three Nigerians with essential hypertension alone underwent M-mode and 2 dimensional echocardiographic study. Twenty per cent (17 patients) had disproportionate intraventricular septal hypertrophy (septum: posterior wall ratio > or = 1.4). These subgroup tended to be elderly, with average age of 57.7 years, and were predominantly male (70%). Two patients in this subgroup (2.4% of total) additionally had thickened posterior left ventricles and a hyperdynamic left ventricular systolic function (fractional fibre shortening of > or = 45%). This picture is consistent with "hypertensive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy". Routine echocardiography may permit the early identification and thus a closer scrutiny and follow up of essential hypertensive patients with disproportionate septal thickness. The prognostic implications of this requires long term study.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D002312:Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009549:Nigeria; D011379:Prognosis; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014463:Ultrasonography