BMJ  2007;335:681-682 (6 October), doi:10.1136/bmj.39344.470718.BE

Editorials

Diagnosing left ventricular hypertrophy in arterial hypertension

ECG has low sensitivity so further tests are needed to detect organ damage

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Arterial hypertension is an important public health challenge—it affects almost one third of the adult population in economically developed countries and is a major contributor of cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. The management of primary hypertension is based on three important principles—diagnosis, treatment, and identifying organ disease and indicators of subclinical organ damage.

In this week's BMJ, a systematic review by Pewsner and colleagues assesses the accuracy of electrocardiography in screening for left ventricular hypertrophy in people with hypertension.1 It finds that electrocardiography has a low sensitivity for detecting left ventricular hypertrophy compared with echocardiography.

Treatment aims for a target blood pressure below 140/90 mm Hg in the general population2 and below 130/80 mm Hg in patients with diabetes and renal dysfunction. A target of ≤130/80 mm Hg should also be considered in patients with cerebrovascular disease, cardiac disease, peripheral artery disease, and advanced retinopathy. Such a target is also . . . [Full text of this article]

Olav W Nielsen, consultant cardiologist1, Ahmad Sajadieh, consultant cardiologist2

1 Bispebjerg University Hospital, 2400 Copenhagen, Denmark, 2 Amager University Hospital, 2300 Copenhagen, Denmark

own@dadlnet.dk


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Relevant Article

Accuracy of electrocardiography in diagnosis of left ventricular hypertrophy in arterial hypertension: systematic review
Daniel Pewsner, Peter Jüni, Matthias Egger, Markus Battaglia, Johan Sundström, and Lucas M Bachmann
BMJ 2007 335: 711. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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