[Types of left ventricular hypertrophy and their functional changes in essential hypertension].

104 patients of hypertensive left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) were studied by two-dimensional echocardiography. According to the changes of left ventricular wall thickness, wall mass, end-diastolic volume and ejection fraction, they were divided into three types (concentric, dilated, disproportionate): (1) Concentric LVH 83 cases (79.8%) with thickened ventricular wall and augmented mass. (2) Dilated LVH 13 cases (12.5%) with left ventricular cavity enlarged and both ventricular mass and volume increased, ejection fraction decreased. (3) Disproportionate LVH 8 cases (7.7%), similar to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with excess increase in interventricular septal thickness. The thickness ratio between interventricular septal and left ventricular posterior wall was greater than or equal to 1.3.