The effect of the metabolic syndrome on the incidence and degree of left ventricular myocardial hypertrophy in hypertensive patients
Authors: Đorđijoski Igor , Mladenović Maja , Raščanin Anastasija , Bastać Mila , Joksimović Zoran , Bastać Dušan 
Published: June 2023

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is characterized by the simultaneous presence of obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia and hyperglycemia in an individual, which leads to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is thickening of the heart muscle wall -hypertrophy of cardiomyocytes in concentric and/or elongation of cardiomyocytes and hyperplasia of connective tissue in eccentric hypertrophy with the participation of hemodynamic and non-hemodynamic factors (genetics, stress, other external factors). MetS, which essentially includesinsulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia, and hyperglycemia, alters myocardial metabolism and promotes myocardial inflammation, fibrosis, hypertrophy, and left ventricular remodeling. OBJECTIVE: To determine the impact of MetS, that is, obesity to the incidence and degree of severity of LVH in hypertensive patients with metabolic syndrome in comparison with the control group -hypertensive patients without metabolic syndrome. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Consecutive patients of the Office of Internal Medicine "Dr. Bastać" were examined, a total of 55 patients with hypertension, who were divided into two groups: the first group with MetS, 22 people, average age 56±8.5 years with BMI>30kg /m 2 and waist circumference more than 80 cm for women and >94 cm for men, the second control group without MetS-33 people, average age 52±14 years, with BMI<30kg/m 2 . Echocardiography was done for all subjects on a Power Vision 6000 Toshiba echo camera with standard echocardiographic measurements in the M, B and Doppler technique, and the mass of the left ventricular myocardium was determined for them using the Devereux formula. RESULTS: The prevalence of LVH in group 1 with metabolic syndrome (MetS) was 64%, while in the control group without (MetS) it was 36%. There was a statistically significantly higher number of patients with LVH in hypertension with MetS compared to hypertensive patients of the control group without MetS (X2, p=0.027). In the group of hypertensive patients with MetS, the degree of severity of myocardial hypertrophy, that is, the myocardial mass , was statistically significantly higher compared to the control group (respectively 302±84g versus 224±89g, p=0.0002). Arterial pressure values were higher for both systolic and diastolic blood pressure 168/106 mmHg in hypertensive patients with MetS, but did not reach statistical significance in relation to blood pressure values in hypertensive patients without MetS (156/95 mmHg, p=0.16). CONCLUSION. Patients with metabolic syndrome and hypertension have a statistically significantly higher prevalence of left ventricular myocardial hypertrophy and a highly statistically significant degree of left ventricular hypertrophy compared to the control group of hypertensive individuals without MetS. Given that mean values of arterial pressure do not differ between groups, it can be concluded that non-hemodynamic factors for the development of LVH have an important role in the induction of a more severe degree of LVH in hypertensive patients with metabolic syndrome.