Determinants of Left Ventricular Geometric Alterations and Related Clinical and Metabolic Factors in a General Population

Left ventricular (LV) geometric remodeling, like concentric ventricular hypertrophy, has been shown to be associated with elevated cardiovascular morbidity and mortality1–5. Hypertension as a primary cause of LV remodeling, together with other metabolic abnormalities6,7, characterizes cardiac structural and functional abnormalities. Both experimental and clinical data have already demonstrated the association between phenotypic ventricular remodeling with aging and serologic evidence of myocardial fibrosis linking to ventricular stiffness8, diastolic dysfunction9 and, eventually, heart failure development10–12. LV remodeling, a marker of cardiac target organ damage, may thus DETERMINANTS OF LEFT VENTRICULAR GEOMETRIC ALTERATIONS AND RELATED CLINICAL AND METABOLIC FACTORS IN A GENERAL POPULATION