title: Influence of the left ventricular types on QT intervals in hypertensive patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the possible electrophysiological background of the greater excitability of concentric and eccentric left ventricular hypertrophy types in relation to the asymmetric type.
  
  
  METHODS
  187 patients with essential hypertension, without ishaemic heart disease were divided into three groups with regard to left ventricule type: concentric (relative wall thickness >0.42, interventricular septum/left ventricular posterior wall ≤1.3), eccentric (left ventricular diameter in systoles >32, relative wall thickness <0.42), asymmetric left ventricular hypertrophy (interventricular septum/left ventricular posterior wall >1.3), and three subgroups: mild (interventricular septum or left ventricular posterior wall 11-12 mm), moderate (interventricular septum or left ventricular posterior wall 13-14 mm) and severe left ventricular hypertrophy (interventricular septum or left ventricular posterior wall ≥15 mm). In all patients QT intervals, QT dispersion, left ventricular mass index and ventricular arrhythmias were measured. An upper normal limit for QT corrected interval: 450/460 ms for men/women; for QT dispersion: 70 ms.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The QT corrected interval and QT dispersion were increased in severe concentric and eccentric left ventricular hypertrophy (443 and 480 ms for QT corrected; 53 and 45 ms for QT dispersion, respectively), not significantly. QT dispersion in men with severe left ventricular hypertrophy was significantly enlarged (67.5 vs. 30 ms, p=0.047). QT interval was significantly longer in patients with complex ventricular arrhythmias (p=0.037).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  No significant association of QT intervals or QT dispersion with the degree/type of left ventricular hypertrophy was found. QT corrected interval and QT dispersion tend to increase proportionally to the left ventricular mass only in the concentric and eccentric type.
authors.affiliation: Thalassotherapia Crikvenica, Special Hospital for Medical Rehabilitation; Crikvenica-Croatia. juraj_kunisek@net.hr.
authors.forename: Juraj
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kunisek
authors.forename: Luka
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zaputovic
authors.forename: Zlatko
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Cubranic
authors.forename: Leon
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kunisek
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zuvic Butorac
authors.forename: Ksenija
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lukin-Eskinja
authors.forename: Rade
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Karlavaris
mesh_terms: D004562:Electrocardiography; D006329:Heart Conduction System; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000503:physiopathology*; D017379:Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular / Q000503:physiopathology*