Plasma renin activity could be a useful predictor of left ventricular hypertrophy in essential hypertensives

Abstract

To clarify the ability of clinical and laboratory parameters to reflect target organ damage, especially left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), we investigated which of these parameters might correlate to LVH as determined by electrocardiographic voltage at the first clinic visit in 108 (53 males and 55 females, average age 52 ± 10 years) untreated essential hypertensives. The sum of the amplitude of the S wave in lead V₁ plus that of the R wave in lead V₅ or V₆ (SV₁ + R(V₅, V₆)) was correlated with blood pressure in both males and females. In subjects with LVH (SV₁ + R(V₅, V₆) ⩾ 3.5mV), a stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that SV₁ + R(V₅, V₆) was associated with plasma renin activity (PRA) in both males and females, and with creatinine concentration (Cr) in males. These results suggest that PRA at the first visit could be a useful predictor of LVH in patients with essential hypertension.