Imran Waheed, Ahmad Masood Akbar, Syed Moazzam Ali Naqvi, Hafiz Abdul Mannan Shahid, Bilal Zakariah Khan.
Symptomatology and structural heart abnormalities in patients with left bundle branch block.
J Cardiovascular Dis Jan ;11(2):45-7.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Left bundle branch block (LBBB) is a common Electrocardiographic (ECG) finding which may or may not be associated with overt heart disease at the time of diagnosis. This study was conducted to determine the pattern of clinical presentation and structural abnormalities in heart as diagnosed on Transthoracic Echocardiography in patients with left bundle branch block. METHODS: This cross sectional observational study was conducted at Punjab Institute of Cardiology, Lahore over a period of six months in 2013-14. Adult patients of either sex with LBBB, symptomatic or asymptomatic were enrolled from outpatient department of the hospital and were subjected to Transthoracic Echocardiographic examination (TTE) on elective basis after obtaining demographic / clinical data and informed consent. Findings of TTE were recorded and presented as frequencies and percentages. RESULTS: One hundred patients were studied; 67 males. Mean age of the study population was 51.2±1.3 years. History revealed breathlessness in 16(16%) cases, atypical non-specific chest pain 15(15%) and dizziness / pre-syncope in 22(22%) of the patients. Nine (9%) patients had normal echocardiograms. Structural abnormalities noted were abnormal septal motion in 91(91%), mitral incompetence in 13(13%), dilated left ventricle in 20(20%) and low LV Ejection Fraction in 23(23%). CONCLUSION: There is a high likelihood of structural heart abnormalities on echocardiography in patients with LBBB. KEYWORDS: Left Bundle Branch Block (LBBB), Transthoracic Echocardiography, Structural heart disease.

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