Left ventricular hypertrophy and proteinuria in patients with essential hypertension in Andkhoy, Afghanistan

Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and proteinuria are known as independent predictors of cardiovascular death in hypertension. However, LVH and its association with proteinuria have not been investigated in adult hypertensive patients in Afghanistan. The objective of this research was to determine the prevalence of LVH and the correlation between LVH and proteinuria among the Afghan adult hypertensive population visiting an outpatient clinic in Afghanistan. We retrospectively evaluated 789 hypertensive patients (mean age is 56 years and 46% were men) who visited the clinic between December 2014 and August 2016. Patient characteristics and laboratory and clinical findings were recorded. The rate of LVH among hypertensive patients was 54.4%. Patients with proteinuria had a significantly higher LVH percentage compared to those without proteinuria (73.2% versus 55.8%; P<0.001). There was a significant correlation between LVH and proteinuria among hypertensive patients (r=0.182, P<0.001). Based on a multivariate regression analysis, age (odds ratio [OR], 1.04; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.02–1.05), proteinuria (OR, 1.69; 95% CI, 1.19–2.41), and female sex (OR, 0.09; 95% CI, 0.06–0.13) were significant factors. In conclusion, the prevalence of LVH was more than 50% in the Afghan adult hypertensive population. This study indicates that there is a significant relationship between LVH detected by ECG and the presence of proteinuria among such subjects.