Electrocardiographic Changes in 50-Year-Old Men with Different Levels of Diastolic Arterial Blood Pressure

Abstract

An ECG study of P wave abnormalities and signs of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) was performed in a series of 76 50-year-old men with hypertension detected in a population study. Two control groups were obtained from the same study. P wave abnormalities were common (36/76) among the hypertensives but were frequently seen also among the controls (41/152). Thus it seems that P wave abnormality, with the current criteria, is not a reliable early sign to discriminate hypertensives from persons with a normal blood pressure. High QRS voltage or left axis deviation was not uncommon in the control groups, while any combination of at least two criteria of LVH (high voltage, prolonged ventricular activation time, ST-T changes or left axis deviation) was far more common in the hypertensive group. In cases with high voltage as the single criterion of LVH examination of the P wave may be helpful to discriminate hypertensives from persons with a normal blood pressure.