Predictors of left ventricular mass in old age: an echocardiographic, clinical and biochemical investigation of a random population sample

The potential predictors of left ventricular mass in old age were studied in a random sample of people born in 1904, 1909, 1914 (n = 501) and 1920-35 (n = 76). Data on the left ventricle with mass calculation, quantitative data on valve disorders and biochemical data were collected. Left ventricular mass (corrected for height) was positively related to male gender, age, body mass index and systolic blood pressure. It was also significantly higher in the presence of aortic valve calcification, a low velocity ratio (indicating aortic valve obstruction), and aortic or mitral regurgitation. In men, left ventricular mass was higher in the presence of coronary artery disease and inversely related to serum high density lipoprotein cholesterol. In multivariate analysis, independent predictors of left ventricular mass without sex interaction were age (standardized coefficient beta = 0.23, P = 0.000), male gender (beta = 0.38, P = 0.000), body mass index (beta = 0.22, P = 0.000), systolic blood pressure (beta = 0.21, P = 0.000), velocity ratio (beta = -0.11, P = 0.010), detectable aortic regurgitation (beta = 0.11, P = 0.014) and moderate-to-severe mitral regurgitation (beta = 0.21, P = 0.000). Thus, the increase in left ventricular mass with age can largely be related to discrete predictors. The impact of valve disorders is substantial.