THE INFLUENCE OF ABDOMINAL OBESITY ON THE APPROPRIATENESS OF LEFT VENTRICULAR MASS IN RURAL POPULATION IN KOREA.

Abstract

Objective: Left ventricular hypertrophy is a well-known surrogate marker for the future cardiovascular events. In addition, the appropriateness of LV mass is issued as an another surrogate marker. Hyperinsulinemia is a possible candidate responsible for the inappropriateness of LV mass.We hypothesized that metabolic parameters including abdominal obesity is associated with inappropriate LV mass in rural population including hypertensive patients. Design and Methods : 170 normotensive subjects and 64 never treated hypertensive patients were analyzed for the appropriateness of LV mass. LV mass was predicted by the equation of 54.9 + 7.62 x height2.7 + 0.67 x stroke work -13.2 x gender(male=1, female=2). Group I was defined by the observed/predicted LV mass of 1.29 or below and the group II was higher than 1.29. Results: 1) Prevalence of inappropriate LV mass was not different among normal blood pressure group(74/129), high normal BP(26/41), and hypertensive group(32/64)(p=0.3). 2) O/P ratio of LV mass was significantly correlated only with abdominal circumference(β=-0.180, p= 0.006) and height(β=-0.134, p=0.04). 3) Adbominal circumference was higher in group II than in group I(84.0±10.1 vs 86.5 ± 8.4, p=0.04) Conclusions: Abdominal obesity is the most important contributing factor of inappropriate LV mass in a Korean rural population, which is independent of heart rate and height.