Valvular regurgitations may increase risk of arrhythmias in Nigerians with hypertensive heart failure.

Hypertensive heart disease (HHD) is the commonest cause of sudden cardiac death among Nigerians. A high frequency and early onset of valvular regurgitations (VHD) in hypertensives, and greater concentric hypertrophy are also common in that population. To further investigate the relationship between VHD and cardiac arrhythmias and their correlates seen in the hypertensive spectrum and to test the hypothesis that VHD predisposes to cardiac arrhythmias in hypertensive heart failure (HHF). HHF patients (n = 14), HHD patients n = 23, and normotensive controls (n = 9) all underwent 24 h electrocardiogram Holter monitoring as well as two-dimensional and Doppler echocardiography. Participants in each patient category were classified according to the presence and severity of VHD or its absence (NVHD). There were statistically significant differences in the mean supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) (P < 0.001 analysis of variance; ANOVA), the mean and median frequency of ventricular tachycardia episodes (P < 0.02 ANOVA), and couplets (P = 0.0002 ANOVA) between groups. HHF-VHD always had more SVT (81/24 versus 4.4/24 h; P = 0.016) and ventricular arrhythmias 69/24 versus 34/24 h (P < 0.02) than HHF-NVHD. Multivalvular regurgitations (three or more valves), higher left ventricular mass index (g/m2) [274 (24) versus 191(19); P < 0.001 ANOVA], and lower ejection fraction (EF; %) [29(3) versus 53(14)] in HHF-VHD were arrhythmogenic. Mean ventricular tachycardia/triplet frequency/24 h were HHF-VHD 69, HHF-NVHD 39, HHD-VHD 0.3, HHD-NVHD 6, and controls 0.2 (P < 0.02 ANOVA). Compared with 35% (10/27) of all VHD, 15.7% (3/19) of all NVHD participants had nonsustained ventricular tachycardia. The number of regurgitant valves was positively correlated with the frequency of the Lown class of the arrhythmias 0-IVB (r = 0.42, P = 0.003) and to ventricular tachycardia (r = 0.3, P = 0.04) (both n = 46). Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) increased arrhythmias. But multivalvular regurgitations predisposes to greater SVT and complex ventricular arrhythmias, especially in HHF. Low EF and concentric LVH are correlates.

Citation

Olufemi E Ajayi, Adesuyi A L Ajayi. Valvular regurgitations may increase risk of arrhythmias in Nigerians with hypertensive heart failure. Journal of cardiovascular medicine (Hagerstown, Md.). 2013 Jun;14(6):453-60

PMID: 23114272

search → result