Association between White Coat Hypertension and Left Ventricular Hypertrophy among Adult Nigerians.

Abstract

There has been an age-long controversy on whether white coat hypertension (WCH) is associated with end organ damage or not. Hence, the presence of left ventricular hypertrophy was assessed in individuals with WCH. This study determined the association between WCH and left ventricular hypertrophy among adult Nigerians. A total of 88 participants consisting of 44 patients with WCH and 44 age and sex-matched normotensive controls were studied. They all underwent 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure measurement and echocardiography. Thirty-one (70.5%) females were in each group. The mean body mass index of patients (26.4 ± 4.5kg/m2) was significantly higher than that of the controls (23.8 ± 4.3kg/m2). Twenty-four of 44 patients and 19 of 44 controls had left ventricular hypertrophy; (chi square=1.137, p-value=0.286). There is high but similar prevalence of LVH among participants with WCH and normotension among adult Nigerians. Hence, there is need to assess every patient with WCH for the presence of LVH and to be followed up for the development of other cardiovascular risk factors.