Hipertrofia cardíaca esquerda e direita em necropsias de hipertensos

objective: to measure the right and left ventricular thickness in deceased individuals with a history of hypertension submitted to clinical autopsies. methods: we selected 90 cases from the death verification service of the city of recife, state of pernambuco, brazil, of both sexes, with a history of essential arterial hypertension related to heart wall thickness, in addition to correlation with autopsy findings and other clinical reports. results: there was a significant association between the presence of left ventricular hypertrophy (lvh) and right ventricular hypertrophy (rvh) and between severe hypertensive cardiomyopathy and rvh. there was a predominance of rvh and lvh in men aged 60-79 years and a higher prevalence in the brazilian mulatto and black ethnic groups and in those with adequate nutritional status or overweight and obese individuals. conclusion: it was observed that the presence of rvh was related to lvh, suggesting that there are similar pathogenic factors involved in the development of bilateral hypertrophy. the rvh seems to be associated with more severe heart disease and may, based on other studies, be considered as a new prognostic factor in the evaluation of hypertensive patients.