title: Significance of fragmented QRS complexes for identifying left ventricular hypertrophy in patients with hypertension.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Fragmented QRS complexes (fQRS) were associated with left ventricular mass (LVM) in hypertensive patients. Our study aimed to investigate the association between fQRS and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in hypertensive patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two hundred thirty-six hypertensive patients were divided into fQRS group and non-fQRS group. fQRS were defined as the presence of an additional R wave, notching in the R or S wave, or the presence of >1 R' in two contiguous leads. Echocardiography was used to detect LVH.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients with fQRS had higher levels of LVM than patients without fQRS (181.55 ± 65.64 g vs. 149.21 ± 35.08 g, P < 0.001). Receiver operating characteristic curves showed areas under the curve was 0.62 for fQRS (95% CI 0.54-0.69, P = 0.003). In univariate analyses, the presence of fQRS on ECG was positively associated with LVM. Multiple regression analyses found fQRS was associated with LVM, independently.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  fQRS is a common electrocardiographic phenomenon in patients with hypertension. Although the diagnostic value for LVH is limited, the presence of fQRS on ECG is associated with a higher risk for worse LVH.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, The Affiliated People's Hospital of Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Baowei
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Ya
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhen
authors.forename: Dongli
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Guohui
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D004562:Electrocardiography / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D017379:Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012372:ROC Curve; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment
keywords: fragmented QRS; hypertension; left ventricular hypertrophy; left ventricular mass