Electrocardiographic Left Ventricular Hypertrophy as a Predictor for Nonsignificant Coronary Artery Disease in Patients with Non-ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction

Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) can lead to subendocardial ischemia by altering the coronary blood flow and its transmural myocardial distribution in the setting of increased oxygen demand. We hypothesized that electrocardiographic LVH predicts nonsignificant coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients with non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI). We performed a retrospective analysis of 406 consecutive patients with NSTEMI who underwent coronary angiography. The LVH was diagnosed using Sokolow-Lyon and Cornell voltage criteria. Nonsignificant CAD was defined as stenosis less than 50% in the left main and 70% in any other coronary arteries. Of the 406 patients, 100 (25%) patients had electrocardiographic LVH and 99 (24%) patients had nonsignificant CAD. Patients with electrocardiographic LVH had a higher prevalence of nonsignificant CAD (32% vs 22%, P =.04) and a lower rate of in-hospital revascularization (45% vs 69%, P <.001) than those without LVH. On multivariate analysis, electrocardiographic LVH was an independent predictor of nonsignificant CAD (odds ratio 1.94; 95% confidence interval 1.12-3.35; P =.02). In conclusion, electrocardiographic LVH is an independent predictor of nonsignificant CAD and associated with a lower rate of in-hospital revascularization in patients with NSTEMI.