Background
Electrocardiogram (ECG) is considered the initial screening method for the detection of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) despite its low sensitivity. However, there are no data on how ECG criteria for LVH perform in patients with concentric (cLVH) and eccentric LVH (eLVH).
Methods
In the setting of the Corinthia cross‐sectional study, ECGs were analyzed in 1,570 participants of the study. Seven ECG LVH criteria were calculated (Sokolow–Lyon voltage, index, and product, sex‐specific Cornell voltage and product, Lewis voltage, and the Framingham), whereas LVH was defined, based on echocardiographic data, as left ventricular mass indexed for body surface area (BSA) of at least 125 g/m2 in men and at least 110 g/m2 in women.
Results
Regarding the frequency encountered for each ECG LVH criterion, there was no difference between eLVH and cLVH. However, when ECG criteria were compared as continuous variables between LVH groups, Cornell voltage and product were higher in cLVH individuals, with a value of Cornell voltage >13.95 mV having 61% sensitivity and 62% specificity to differentiate cLVH from eLVH (p = .05). Even after adjustment for age, sex, body mass index, and hypertension, the occurrence of Cornell voltage or product increased the odds of cLVH by 1.6 times (p = .001).
Conclusion
Cornell voltage and product criteria disclosed a superior discriminative ability for the detection of LVH via ECG. When further categorizing LVH as concentric and eccentric, Cornell product depicted the higher discriminative ability for cLVH.
In this article, we present the case of a 38-year-old female who suffered from serious respiratory distress. After an extensive pulmonary artery imaging diagnostic work-up (CTPA, MRA and PET), we were unable to differentiate between chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) vs. pulmonary artery sarcoma (PAS) due to extensive filling defects and extraluminal findings. Although surgery was postponed for nine months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, CTEPH diagnosis, due to a high-thrombus burden, was finally confirmed after pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA). Conclusively, imaging findings of rare cases of CTEPH might mimic PAS and the surgical removal of the lesion are both needed for a final diagnosis. What is Already Known about This Topic? Pulmonary artery sarcoma (PAS) is a rare but aggressive malignancy, which originates from the intimal layer of the pulmonary artery (PA); Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) is based on chronic, organized flow-limiting thrombi inside PA circulation and subsequent pulmonary hypertension. What Does This Study Contribute? Since radiological findings of CTEPH cases might rarely mimic PAS, pulmonary artery endarterectomy and subsequent histopathologic study are needed for a final diagnosis.
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