Determinants of Left Ventricular Mass Among Apparently Normal Children in Enugu State.

Background: The left ventricular mass (LVM) index is a very crucial index used for risk stratification among children. This work aimed to document the LVM values among children and delineate the prevalence of LVH among healthy children in Southeast Nigeria. It elicited the correlation between Left ventricular mass index (LVMI) and age, gender and height.

Methodology: This is a descriptive study involving 218 children drawn from one public and 2 private hospitals over six years. Echocardiographic measurements which assessed various parameters and indices of LVH were ascertained. The data was analyzed with the IBM SPSS statistics for windows, version 20 (IBM Corp, Chicago).

Results: The prevalence of left ventricular hypertrophy among the respondents was 5.0%. There was a strong positive correlation between left ventricular mass and surface area, (n=218, r=0.751, p<0.001). There was a very strong positive correlation between left ventricular mass and weight, which was found to be statistically significant, (n=218, r=0.755, p<0.001). There was a very strong positive correlation between left ventricular mass and BMI, which was found to be statistically significant, (n=218, r=0.34, p=0.004). There was a positive correlation between left ventricular mass and height, which was found to be statistically significant, (n=218, r=0.126, p=0.238).

Conclusion: The mean values of LVM indexed to height, BMI, surface area, and weight and compared with gender were elicited in this study. These mean normative values could be a guide for the cardiothoracic surgeon and paediatric cardiologist in some clinical decision-making.