Familial predisposition of left ventricular hypertrophy

OBJECTIVES The study evaluated the contribution of familial predisposition to the risk of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). BACKGROUND Left ventricular hypertrophy is a multifactorial condition that serves as an important predictor of cardiovascular mortality. At present it is unclear whether familial predisposition contributes to the manifestatio n of LVH. Thus, we determined whether siblings of subjects with LVH are at increased risk to present with an elevation of LV mass or an abnormal LV ge ometry. METHODS Echocardiographic and anthropometric measurements were performed in 2,293 individuals who participated in the echocardiographic substudies of population-based MONICA Augsburg surveys. In addition, a total of 319 sibli ngs of survey participants with echocardiographic evidence of LVH were eval uated. The risk of these siblings to present with LVH or abnormal LV geomet ry was estimated by comparison with 636 subjects matched for gender and age that were selected from the entire echocardiography study base. RESULTS Blood pressure, body mass index, age, and gender (i.e., known deter minants of LV mass) were comparable in LVH-siblings and the matched compari son group. However, septal and posterior wall thicknesses, relative wall th ickness as well as LV mass index were significantly elevated in LVH-sibling s (p < 0.001, each) whereas LV dimensions did not differ. Likewise, the pre valence of LVH was raised in LVH-siblings, as was the relative risk of LVH after adjustment for confounders (p < 0.05). More specifically, LVH-sibling s displayed increased prevalences of concentric remodeling and concentric L VH (p < 0.05) but not of eccentric LVH. CONCLUSIONS Familial predisposition appears to contribute to increased LV w all thickness, to the development of LV hypertrophy and abnormal LV geometr y. (C) 1999 by the American College of Cardiology.