Relation between age, ventricular arrhythmia, left ventricular hypertrophy and QT dispersion in patients with essential hypertension

The aim of this study was to look at the effect of age on left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), left ventricular mass (LVM), QTc dispersion and Lown score of arrhythmia in patients with essential hypertension compared with normal healthy subjects. One hundred and fifteen (115) hypertensive patients (67 men, 48 women) and fourty-one (4 1) age-matched healthy control subjects (22 men, 19 women) were included in the study. The Lown score, LVH and LVM prevalence were significantly higher in hypertensive patients compared with healthy controls. LVH and LVM were much higher in hypertensive and control males compared to females. While LVH and LVM were more prevalent in younger hypertensive patients, the reverse was seen in healthy control subjects, where the elderly group showed a higher prevalence. QTc dispersion was significantly higher in hypertensive patients compared with healthy controls. While QTc dispersion was significantly higher in older healthy controls, this was not the case in the older hypertensive patients.