Test Characteristics of Electrocardiography for Detection of Left Ventricular Hypertrophy in Asymptomatic Emergency Department Patients With Hypertension

Abstract

In this cohort of predominately African American ED patients with asymptomatic HTN, sensitivity and specificity of standard ECG criteria were relatively poor for the diagnosis of LVH on echocardiography. Thus, ECG is of limited use for LVH risk stratification in asymptomatic ED patients with elevated blood pressure, with additional clinical information only modestly strengthening its predictive value.