Ventricular arrhythmias: Q-T prolongation and left ventricular hypertrophy in adult Nigerians with hypertensive heart disease.

Seventy adult Nigerians with hypertensive heart disease (HHD) and 68 healthy controls were studied for ventricular arrhythmias (VA). The roles of QT prolongation and left ventricular hypertrophy in these arrhythmias were received. The mean age of the study population was 49.9 +/- 6.0 years. 14 (20.0%) patients had cardiac arrhythmias with 3 patients having premature ventricular contractions (PVC). Ten (14.3%) cases had QTc prolongation out of which 1 patient had PVC. Some factors that were found to be associated with QT prolongation in HHD include: left ventricular hypertrophy, persistently elevated systolic blood pressure and female gender. There was a positive correlation between left ventricular hypertrophy and QTc prolongation and also between QTc prolongation and frequency of ventricular arrhythmias.