Abstract: ObjectiveTo investigate the relationship between left ventricular hypertrophy  (LVH) and visceral adipose tissue distribution in patients with essential hypertension (EH). MethodsAge， gender， blood pressure， heights， body mass， waist circumference and hip circumference were recorded in 80 patients with EH. Cardiac ultrasound examination and abdominal CT were performed， then V/S and LVMI were calculated. ResultsThere were no significant difference in age， systolic pressure， and diastolic pressure between LVH group and nonLVH group (P>0.05). The V/S， BMI， WHR and WHtR were significantly higher in LVH group than in nonLVH group (P<0.05). And there were linear regression between V/S， WHtR， WHR， BMI and LVMI. ConclusionObesity contributes to the LVH in EH patients， and visceral adipose tissue plays significant role in the pathogenesis of LVH．

Key words: hypertension；obesity, hypertrophy, left ventricular, visceral fat