ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The study was undertaken to assess the correlation between the presence and degree of aortic atheroma with degree of Left ventricular (LV) mass index and subsequent clinical outcomes. MATERIAL AND METHOD: The authors studied the clinical profiles of 87 patients with aortic atherosclerosis and controls, who had undergone TEE between 1995 and 2000. RESULTS: Mean LV mass index was 116 gram/m2 in atherosclerosis group compared to 81 gram/m2 in the control group (p < 0.009). In the atherosclerotic group, there was a close correlation between LV mass index score and severity of the plaque in the aortic arch and descending aorta (p < 0.001, 0.001). The presence of large ulcerated plaque had a significant correlation with stroke (p < 0.002). CONCLUSION: 1) LV mass index correlates with the severity of aortic atheroma. 2) Smoking, elevated mean arterial blood pressure and a high LV mass index score are significantly correlated with large ulcerated plaque and stroke. 3) These findings may in part explain the higher cardiovascular risk in patients with increased left ventricular mass.