Prevalence rate of left ventricular hypertrophy and the burden of arrhythmias among hypertensive patients attending Jinja Regional Referral Hospital, eastern Uganda.

ABSTRACT

In Uganda, hypertension is a rapidly increasing non-communicable disease with high morbidity and mortality, leading to complications such as renal failure, heart failure, stroke, and myocardial infarctions. This study aimed to determine the factors associated with left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) among hypertensive patients at Jinja Regional Referral Hospital. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 323 participants using convenience sampling, the study utilized structured questionnaires and data was analyzed using STATA. Results indicated that factors independently associated with LVH included alcohol consumption (aOR 0.26, 95%CI 0.10-0.70, P=0.007), lack of physical exercise (aOR 0.47, 95%CI 0.23-0.94, P=0.033), Low medication adherence (aOR 0.31, 95%CI 0.13-0.71, P=0.006)., female participants who had waist-hip-ratio >0.80 (aOR 3.70, 95%CI 1.18-11.64, P=0.025), diastolic blood pressure of 100 - 109 mmHg (aOR 4.58, 95%CI 1.65-12.74, P=0.004) and diastolic blood pressure of ≤89 mmHg (aOR 3.03, 95%CI 1.03-8.89, P=0.044). The study highlights the need for better management of hypertension and lifestyle modifications to reduce LVH prevalence.