Background: ECG ST-T segment abnormalities in hypertensive patients are traditionally associated with hypertrophy or ischaemia. Hypertensive patients with abnormalities in ST-T segment in DI, aVL and/or V5-V6 underwent an echocardiographic study in order to assess left ventricular structure. All of them, in addition to the electric changes, showed typical or non-typical thoracic discomfort, showing a normal coronariographic study.
Methods: Hypertensive patients with ST-T segment changes were classified as follows: group A, 12 patients (8 women, 4 men, mean age 63.6 +/- 7.2 years) with ECG image of left ventricular overload pattern; group B, 9 patients (3 men, 6 women, mean age 62.3 +/- 6.3 years) with flat ST segment depression; and group C, 10 patients (3 men, 7 women, mean age 62.4 +/- 9.7 years) without changes on the ST-T segment with flat or negative T wave. Control group is made up 12 hypertensive patients (7 women, 5 men, mean age 61.6 +/- 7.6 years) with normal ECG. We assess by echocardiography interventricular septal thickness (IVST) and left ventricular posterior wall thickness (PWT) in mm, left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (DTD) in mm, left ventricular mass (LVM) in grs, and the mass index (MI) in g/m2.
Results: IVST, PWT, LVM and MI were significantly (p < 0.05) higher in the groups A, B and C than in the control group. No statistically significant differences were observed between the A, B and C groups. Stepwise discriminant analysis showed that the only parameter with independent value for discriminating between control, group and group ABC (the union of groups A, B and C) was IVST.
Conclusion: In hypertensive patients without coronariopathy, ST-T changes identify a group with greater left ventricular mass. The different electrocardiographic patterns considered were not associated with a significantly different left ventricular mass.