Echocardiographic left ventricular hypertrophy and geometry in Chinese chronic hemodialysis patients: the prevalence and determinants

Background To investigate the prevalence of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and explore left ventricular geometry in maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients, and to explore the risk factors of LVH which is an important predictor of cardiovascular events. Methods The subjects were patients who are on MHD for more than 3 months in Peking University People's Hospital from March 2015 to February 2017. Demographic and clinical data were retrospectively collected. Left ventricular mass was measured by echocardiography. LVH is defined by Left ventricular mass index (LVMI) > 115 g/m(2) for men and > 95 g/m(2) in women. LVMI and relative wall thickness were used to determine left ventricular geometry. Logistic regression was used to analyze the risk factors of LVH. Results Altogether, 131 patients including 77 males were enrolled. The median age was 60 (47, 69) years, with a median dialysis vintage of 48 (18, 104) months. There were 80 patients with LVH, the prevalence rate was 61.1%, and 66.3% of them were moderate to severe LVH. We found that (1) most of the patients were concentric hypertrophy; (2) one-third of the patients were concentric remodeling; (3) only 4 cases with normal geometry. The pre-dialysis serum sodium level and time average pre-dialysis systolic blood pressure (SBP) were independent risk factors of LVH. Conclusion LVH is prevalent in MHD patients. Concentric hypertrophy and concentric remodeling are the most common geometric patterns. Attention should be paid to long-term pre-dialysis SBP management and pre-dialysis sodium control as they might be potentially modifiable risk factors for LVH.