Questioning the prevalence of left ventricular hypertrophy considered as reference in the study by its authors

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Universidade de Caxias do Sul - UCS, Caxias do Sul, RS - Brazil

Mailing Address

Keywords: Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular.

Dear editor,

Regarding the article "Accuracy of Chest Radiography and Electrocardiogram in Diagnosis of Hypertrophy in Hypertension"¹, we would like to make some considerations: 1- initially, it is worth emphasizing the progressive reduction in the occurrence of concentric left ventricular hypertrophy (increased septal and/or posterior wall thickness) in the state of Rio Grande do Sul as compared with the percentages reported in the foreign literature in studies using echocardiography^2,3. That fact or phenomenon can be attributed to either the better treatment of arterial hypertension or the bias: patients without ventricular hypertrophy live longer, being, thus, more prevalent; 2- in that study, which was the prevalence of concentric left ventricular hypertrophy, and how was the study sample selected?

References

• 1. Ribeiro SM, Morceli J, Gonçalves RS, Franco RJ, Habermann F, Meira DA, et al. Acurácia da radiografia de tórax associada a eletrocardiograma no diagnóstico de hipertrofia em hipertensos. Arq Bras Cardiol. 2012;99(3):825-33.
• 2. Bombig MTN, Póvoa R. Cardiopatia hipertensiva: aspectos epidemiológicos, prevalência e fator de risco cardiovascular. Rev Bras Hipertens. 2008;15(2):75-80.
• 3. Holthausen RS, Gus M, Fuchs FD. Hipertrofia ventricular esquerda e hipertensão: aspectos epidemiológicos. Hipertensão. 2002;5(3):100-2.

Questioning the prevalence of left ventricular hypertrophy considered as reference in the study by its authors

Eduardo Maffini da Rosa; Daniel Perin Nunes; Robeta Casanova Wilhelms

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  06 May 2013
• Date of issue
  Apr 2013