Association of alcohol consumption with morbidity and mortality in patients with cardiovascular disease: original data and meta-analysis of 48,423 men and women

Abstract Background Light-to-moderate alcohol consumption has been reported to be cardio-protective among apparently healthy individuals; however, it is unclear whether this association is also present in those with disease. To examine the association between alcohol consumption and prognosis in individuals with pre-existing cardiovascular disease (CVD), we conducted a series of meta-analyses of new findings from three large-scale cohorts and existing published studies. Methods We assessed alcohol consumption in relation to all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, and subsequent cardiovascular events via de novo analyses of 14,386 patients with a previous myocardial infarction, angina, or stroke in the UK Biobank Study (median follow-up 8.7 years, interquartile range [IQR] 8.0–9.5), involving 1640 deaths and 2950 subsequent events, and 2802 patients and 1257 deaths in 15 waves of the Health Survey for England 1994–2008 and three waves of the Scottish Health Survey 1995, 1998, and 2003 (median follow-up 9.5 years, IQR 5.7–13.0). This was augmented with findings from 12 published studies identified through a systematic review, providing data on 31,235 patients, 5095 deaths, and 1414 subsequent events. To determine the best-fitting dose-response association between alcohol and each outcome in the combined sample of 48,423 patients, models were constructed using fractional polynomial regression, adjusting at least for age, sex, and smoking status. Results Alcohol consumption was associated with all assessed outcomes in a J-shaped manner relative to current non-drinkers, with a risk reduction that peaked at 7 g/day (relative risk 0.79, 95% confidence interval 0.73–0.85) for all-cause mortality, 8 g/day (0.73, 0.64–0.83) for cardiovascular mortality and 6 g/day (0.50, 0.26–0.96) for cardiovascular events, and remained significant up to 62, 50, and 15 g/day, respectively. No statistically significant elevated risks were found at higher levels of drinking. In the few studies that excluded former drinkers from the non-drinking reference group, reductions in risk among light-to-moderate drinkers were attenuated. Conclusions For secondary prevention of CVD, current drinkers may not need to stop drinking. However, they should be informed that the lowest risk of mortality and having another cardiovascular event is likely to be associated with lower levels of drinking, that is up to approximately 105g (or equivalent to 13 UK units, with one unit equal to half a pint of beer/lager/cider, half a glass of wine, or one measure of spirits) a week.

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Subclinical thyroid dysfunctions are independent risk factors for mortality in a 7.5-year follow-up: the Japanese–Brazilian thyroid study

Acta Endocrinologica ◽

10.1530/eje-09-0845 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 162 (3) ◽

pp. 569-577 ◽

Cited By ~ 70

Author(s):

José A Sgarbi ◽

Luiza K Matsumura ◽

Teresa S Kasamatsu ◽

Sandra R Ferreira ◽

Rui M B Maciel

Keyword(s):

Cardiovascular Disease ◽

Cardiovascular Mortality ◽

Subclinical Hypothyroidism ◽

Thyroid Disease ◽

Subclinical Hyperthyroidism ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

All Cause Mortality ◽

Thyroid Medication ◽

Cardiometabolic Profile

ObjectiveThe currently available data concerning the influence of subclinical thyroid disease (STD) on morbidity and mortality are conflicting. Our objective was to investigate the relationships between STD and cardiometabolic profile and cardiovascular disease at baseline, as well as with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in a 7.5-year follow-up.DesignProspective, observational study.MethodsAn overall of 1110 Japanese–Brazilians aged above 30 years, free of thyroid disease, and not taking thyroid medication at baseline were studied. In a cross-sectional analysis, we investigated the prevalence of STD and its relationship with cardiometabolic profile and cardiovascular disease. All-cause and cardiovascular mortality rates were assessed for participants followed for up to 7.5 years. Association between STD and mortality was drawn using multivariate analysis, adjusting for potential confounders.ResultsA total of 913 (82.3%) participants had euthyroidism, 99 (8.7%) had subclinical hypothyroidism, and 69 (6.2%) had subclinical hyperthyroidism. At baseline, no association was found between STD and cardiometabolic profile or cardiovascular disease. Multivariate-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs (95% confidence interval)) for all-cause mortality were significantly higher for individuals with both subclinical hyperthyroidism (HR, 3.0 (1.5–5.9); n=14) and subclinical hypothyroidism (HR, 2.3 (1.2–4.4); n=13) than for euthyroid subjects. Cardiovascular mortality was significantly associated with subclinical hyperthyroidism (HR, 3.3 (1.4–7.5); n=8), but not with subclinical hypothyroidism (HR, 1.6 (0.6–4.2); n=5).ConclusionIn the Japanese–Brazilian population, subclinical hyperthyroidism is an independent risk factor for all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, while subclinical hypothyroidism is associated with all-cause mortality.

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A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials of Aspirin in Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease.

Blood ◽

10.1182/blood.v114.22.174.174 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 114 (22) ◽

pp. 174-174

Author(s):

Nina C Raju ◽

Magda Sobieraj-Teague ◽

John W Eikelboom

Keyword(s):

Myocardial Infarction ◽

Cardiovascular Disease ◽

Primary Prevention ◽

Cardiovascular Mortality ◽

Cardiovascular Events ◽

Conflicts Of Interest ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Cochrane Library ◽

Controlled Trials ◽

All Cause Mortality

Abstract Abstract 174 Primary prevention with aspirin reduces the risk of non-fatal cardiovascular events but has not been demonstrated to reduce mortality. We performed an updated meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials of aspirin in primary prevention to obtain best estimates of the benefits and harm of aspirin compared with no aspirin with a focus on mortality. Eligible articles were identified by computerized search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane library and CINAHL databases, review of bibliographies of relevant publications and a related article search using PubMed. The outcomes of interest included all cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, the composite of myocardial infarction, stroke or death, and bleeding. 2 reviewers independently extracted study information and data. Data were pooled from individual trials using the DerSimonian-Laird random-effects model and results are presented as relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). 8 studies comprising a total of 96,726 subjects were included. Aspirin reduced all-cause mortality (RR 0.94; 95%CI 0.88–1.00), the composite of myocardial infarction, stroke or cardiovascular death (RR 0.87; 95%CI 0.82–0.93), and myocardial infarction (RR 0.8; 95%CI 0.66–0.98) but did not significantly reduce cardiovascular mortality (RR 0.94; 95%CI 0.82–1.08) or stroke (RR 0.93; 95%CI 0.81–1.07). Aspirin increased the risk of major bleeding (RR; 1.69 95%CI 1.38–2.08), gastrointestinal bleeding (RR 1.38; 95%CI 1.16–1.65) and hemorrhagic stroke (RR 1.36; 95%CI 1.01–1.84). There was no interaction between subjects with or without diabetes for the outcomes of all cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, the composite of myocardial infarction, stroke or death. Aspirin therapy in subjects with no prior history of cardiovascular disease reduces the risk of cardiovascular events, myocardial infarction and overall mortality. These benefits are achieved at the expense of increased bleeding. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

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High alkaline phosphatase and low intact parathyroid hormone associate with worse clinical outcome in peritoneal dialysis patients

Peritoneal Dialysis International ◽

10.1177/0896860820918131 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 089686082091813 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Zhimin Chen ◽

Xiaohui Zhang ◽

Fei Han ◽

Xishao Xie ◽

Zhou Hua ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cardiovascular Disease ◽

Alkaline Phosphatase ◽

Peritoneal Dialysis ◽

Parathyroid Hormone ◽

Competing Risks ◽

Cardiovascular Mortality ◽

Assessment Tools ◽

Baseline Serum ◽

All Cause Mortality

Objective: Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) is used as a biomarker to monitor the chronic kidney disease–mineral bone disorder (CKD-MBD) and high levels of parathyroid hormone (PTH) that were reported to be related to increased mortality in CKD patients. Therefore, we conducted this longitudinal cohort study to evaluate the relations between ALP and intact PTH (iPTH) and the associations with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. Methods: In 1276 incident PD patients (median age 50 years, 56% males), baseline serum ALP, iPTH, and metabolic biomarkers potentially linked to CKD-MBD were analyzed in relation to mortality during follow-up period of up to 60 months. All-cause and cardiovascular mortality risk of ALP and iPTH were analyzed with competing-risks regression models with transplantation as competing risk adjusting for all covariates. Results: After adjustments for confounders by logistic regression model, older age, higher change level to levels of iPTH, S-albumin, calcium, alanine transaminase (ALT), and lower level of phosphorus were associated with higher ALP level (>79 U/L), and female gender, non-diabetes mellitus, younger age, lower calcium, higher ALT, total bilirubin, phosphorus, and ALP were associated with higher iPTH level (>300 pg/mL). During 60 months (median 44 months) of follow-up, the all-cause mortality rate was 16%, and 91 (46%) of the 199 deaths were caused by cardiovascular disease. In competing-risks regression analysis, “high ALP + low iPTH” was independently associated with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality after adjustment for age, gender, presence of diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, the calendar year of recruitment and vitamin D therapy in PD patients. The subhazard ratio (sHR) of group “high ALP + low iPTH” was 1.96 times and 3.35 times higher than sHR of group “low ALP + high iPTH” for all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality, respectively. Conclusions: The combination of high ALP and low iPTH was independently associated with increased all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in PD patients, suggesting that ALP and iPTH have the potential to predict clinical outcomes and might be useful risk assessment tools in PD patients. Further studies exploring the observed association between combination of ALP with iPTH and mortality are warranted.

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Abstract 5066: The Treatment Effect of Perindopril is Consistent in All Patients with Vascular Disease or High Risk of Vascular Disease: A Combined Analysis of Three Perindopril Trials

Circulation ◽

10.1161/circ.118.suppl_18.s_1138-b ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 118 (suppl_18) ◽

Author(s):

Jasper J Brugts ◽

Eric Boersma ◽

Jaap W Deckers ◽

Willem Remme ◽

Michel Bertrand ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Blood Pressure ◽

High Risk ◽

Vascular Disease ◽

Cardiovascular Mortality ◽

Treatment Effect ◽

Cardiovascular Events ◽

Treatment Benefit ◽

Combined Analysis ◽

All Cause Mortality

The beneficial effect of the ACE-inhibitor perindopril has been demonstrated in large placebo-controlled clinical trials consisting of patients with stable CAD without overt heart failure (EUROPA), history of stroke (PROGRESS) and diabetes mellitus (ADVANCE). EUROPA investigated the effect of perindopril 8 mg during a mean follow-up of 4.2 years. PROGRESS investigated a perindopril 4mg/indapamide regimen during 4 years of follow-up and ADVANCE studied a perindopril 4 mg/indapamide regimen during 4.3 years of follow-up. In the three trials, mean blood pressure reduction was respectively, 5/2 mmHg, 9/4 mmHg and 6/2 mmHg. In all three trials, perindopril significantly reduced major cardiovascular events independent of baseline blood pressure levels. For this meta-analysis, we analyzed the treatment effect of the three trials combined on the shared endpoints of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality & MI. Table 1 shows an analysis of three perindopril trials (EUROPA, PROGRESS and ADVANCE). When these findings were combined (n=29493), perindopril significantly reduced all-cause mortality (OR 0.89, 95% CI 0.82– 0.97), and cardiovascular mortality, MI (OR 0.82, 95% CI 0.74 – 0.90). This combined analysis shows that perindopril reduced cardiovascular events by 11–18% irrespective of risk level or the type of patients, which is in line with prior meta-analyses and risk models. This treatment benefit by perindopril is consistent among all patients with vascular disease or high risk of vascular disease. The treatment benefit by perindopril among patients with vascular disease or high-risk vascular disease.

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Net Clinical Benefit of Low Dose Rivaroxaban in Coronary Heart Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Blood ◽

10.1182/blood-2019-121899 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 134 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 3662-3662 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Muhammad Zain Farooq ◽

Muhammad Saad Farooq ◽

Saira Farid ◽

Talha Aijaz ◽

Ishaan Vohra ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Coronary Heart Disease ◽

Heart Disease ◽

Cardiovascular Mortality ◽

Cardiovascular Events ◽

Low Dose ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Pooled Analysis ◽

All Cause Mortality ◽

Net Clinical Benefit

Introduction US Food and Drug Administration has recently approved the use of rivaroxaban 2.5mg BID in patients with coronary heart disease based on Cardiovascular Outcomes for People Using Anticoagulation Strategies (COMPASS) trial. However, it's unclear whether there is net clinical benefit with use of rivaroxaban in such patients. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the effects of rivaroxaban on clinical outcomes in coronary heart disease patients. Methods: Embase, Ovid, Pubmed and Scopus were extensively searched from inception of these databases to April 2019 by two independent reviewers. Only randomized controlled trials of low dose rivaroxaban (2.5 mg BID) reporting mortality and cardiovascular outcomes of interest in baseline coronary heart disease patients (≥ 18 years) with at least 1000 patients and follow-up of ≥ 1 year were included. The co-primary outcomes were cardiovascular mortality and all-cause mortality. The secondary endpoints were myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, major adverse cardiovascular events, major bleeding and cerebral nervous system (CNS) bleeding. Cochrane Collaboration's tool was used for risk of bias assessment. Statistical heterogeneity was quantified using I2 statistics whereas publication bias was assessed with Eggers regression test. We combined estimates using DerSimonian and Laird random effects models. Outcomes were reported as hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: Five randomized control trials including 39,979 patients were included in our meta-analysis. Trials ATLAS and Commander HF used placebo as their control while COMPASS and GEMINI ACS-1 used aspirin as control. Pioneer AF-PCI used vitamin K antagonist as the control. Mean age (SD) of the patients was 65.6 ± 3.7 years with 74.3% females. Mean follow up in years was 1.6 ±0.5. Majority of the patients in each trial had hypertension. Our pooled analysis showed reduction in all-cause mortality (HR, 0.85, 95% CI, 0.72-1.00, P=0.05), cardiovascular mortality (HR, 0.83, 95% CI, 0.70-1.00, P=0.05), MI (HR, 0.88, 95% CI, 0.78-1.00, P=0.05) and stroke (HR, 0.70, 95% CI, 0.53-0.94, P=0.02) with low dose rivaroxaban. No significant difference in risk of bleeding was observed (HR, 1.45, 95% CI, 0.83-2.51, P=0.19). Our pooled analysis also showed reduction in major cardiovascular events (HR, 0.91, 95% CI, 0.85-0.98, P=0.01). CNS bleeding was only reported by ATLAS and COMPASS trials and net effect showed no statistically significant bleeding risk (HR, 1.63, 95% CI, 0.70-3.79, P=0.26). Conclusion: Our data suggest that the use of rivaroxaban is associated with reduction in all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in coronary heart disease patients without significantly increasing the risk of bleeding. To further decrease the residual risk of cardiovascular events in coronary heart disease patients, low dose rivaroxaban can be considered by clinicians. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

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Calcification Propensity in Serum and Cardiovascular Outcome in Peripheral Artery Disease

Thrombosis and Haemostasis ◽

10.1055/s-0041-1736444 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Marija Bojic ◽

Bernhard Bielesz ◽

Daniel Cejka ◽

Gerit-Holger Schernthaner ◽

Clemens Höbaus

Keyword(s):

Cardiovascular Risk ◽

Peripheral Artery Disease ◽

Cardiovascular Mortality ◽

Cardiovascular Events ◽

Study Cohort ◽

Peripheral Artery ◽

Multivariate Adjustment ◽

All Cause Mortality ◽

Artery Disease

AbstractPeripheral artery disease (PAD) has been shown to be linked to elevated cardiovascular risk. The novel T50 test quantifies calcification propensity of serum and has been associated with cardiovascular events and mortality in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and in the general population. This study investigated the association of calcification propensity measured by the T50 test in 287 patients with PAD without severe CKD. Major cardiovascular events (MACEs) including nonfatal stroke and nonfatal myocardial infarction and all-cause death (MACE + ) were evaluated after a median follow-up of 4 years and long-term cardiovascular and all-cause mortality after a median follow-up of 8.7 years by Kaplan–Meier and Cox regression analyses. Mean T50 time was 268 ± 63 minutes in the study cohort (age 69 ± 10 years, 32% women, 47% diabetes). Low T50 values that signify high calcification propensity were significantly associated with the occurrence of MACE+ (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.72; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.55–0.94). This association sustained multivariate adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs), Fontaine PAD stage, and prevalent media sclerosis (HR: 0.65; CI: 0.47–0.91). Cardiovascular mortality was significantly associated with T50 after multivariate adjustment for CVRF (HR: 0.72; CI 0.53–0.99), but not all-cause mortality (HR: 0.80; CI: 0.64–1.01). In conclusion, calcification propensity associates with MACE+ and cardiovascular mortality in patients with PAD.

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Low HbA1c levels and all-cause or cardiovascular mortality among people without diabetes: the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999–2015

International Journal of Epidemiology ◽

10.1093/ije/dyaa263 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Kosuke Inoue ◽

Roch Nianogo ◽

Donatello Telesca ◽

Atsushi Goto ◽

Vahe Khachadourian ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cardiovascular Mortality ◽

Regression Models ◽

Machine Learning Algorithms ◽

Logistic Regression Models ◽

Health And Nutrition ◽

Increased Risk ◽

The Us ◽

All Cause Mortality ◽

Hba1c Levels

Abstract Objective It is unclear whether relatively low glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) levels are beneficial or harmful for the long-term health outcomes among people without diabetes. We aimed to investigate the association between low HbA1c levels and mortality among the US general population. Methods This study includes a nationally representative sample of 39 453 US adults from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys 1999–2014, linked to mortality data through 2015. We employed the parametric g-formula with pooled logistic regression models and the ensemble machine learning algorithms to estimate the time-varying risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality by HbA1c categories (low, 4.0 to <5.0%; mid-level, 5.0 to <5.7%; prediabetes, 5.7 to <6.5%; and diabetes, ≥6.5% or taking antidiabetic medication), adjusting for 72 potential confounders including demographic characteristics, lifestyle, biomarkers, comorbidities and medications. Results Over a median follow-up of 7.5 years, 5118 (13%) all-cause deaths, and 1116 (3%) cardiovascular deaths were observed. Logistic regression models and machine learning algorithms showed nearly identical predictive performance of death and risk estimates. Compared with mid-level HbA1c, low HbA1c was associated with a 30% (95% CI, 16 to 48) and a 12% (95% CI, 3 to 22) increased risk of all-cause mortality at 5 years and 10 years of follow-up, respectively. We found no evidence that low HbA1c levels were associated with cardiovascular mortality risk. The diabetes group, but not the prediabetes group, also showed an increased risk of all-cause mortality. Conclusions Using the US national database and adjusting for an extensive set of potential confounders with flexible modelling, we found that adults with low HbA1c were at increased risk of all-cause mortality. Further evaluation and careful monitoring of low HbA1c levels need to be considered.

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POS0141 ACTIVE SCREENING FOR GOUT IDENTIFIES A LARGER CARDIOVASCULAR POPULATION AT HIGH MORTALITY RISK

Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases ◽

10.1136/annrheumdis-2021-eular.1872 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 80 (Suppl 1) ◽

pp. 282.2-282

Author(s):

S. Ruiz-Simón ◽

I. Calabuig ◽

M. Gomez-Garberi ◽

M. Andrés

Keyword(s):

High Mortality ◽

Mortality Risk ◽

Cardiovascular Events ◽

Cox Regression ◽

Field Studies ◽

High Mortality Risk ◽

Active Screening ◽

Tertiary Centre ◽

All Cause Mortality

Background:We have recently revealed by active screening that about a third of gout cases in the cardiovascular population is not registered in records [1], highlighting the value of field studies.Objectives:To assess whether gout screening in patients hospitalized for cardiovascular events may also help identify patients at higher risk of mortality after discharge.Methods:A retrospective cohort field study, carried out in 266 patients admitted for cardiovascular events in the Cardiology, Neurology and Vascular Surgery units of a tertiary centre in Spain. The presence of gout was established by records review and face-to-face interview, according to the 2015 ACR/EULAR criteria. The occurrence of mortality during follow-up and its causes were obtained from electronic medical records. The association between gout and subsequent mortality was tested using Cox regression models. Whether covariates affect the gout-associated mortality was also studied.Results:Of 266 patients recruited at baseline, 17 were excluded due to loss to follow-up (>6mo), leaving a final sample of 249 patients (93.6%). Thirty-six cases (14.5% of the sample) were classified as having gout: twenty-three (63.9%) had a previously registered diagnosis, while 13 (36.1%) had not and was established by the interview.After discharge, the mean follow-up was 19.9 months (SD ±8.6), with a mortality incidence of 21.6 deaths per 100 patient-years, 34.2% by cardiovascular causes.Gout significantly increased the risk of subsequent all-cause mortality, with a hazard ratio (HR) of 2.01 (95%CI 1.13 to 3.58). When the analysis was restricted to gout patients with registered diagnosis, the association remained significant (HR 2.89; 95%CI 1.54 to 5.41).The adjusted HR for all-cause mortality associated with gout was 1.86 (95% CI 1.01-3.40). Regarding the causes of death, both cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular were numerically increased.Secondary variables rising the mortality risk in those with gout were age (HR 1.07; 1.01 to 1.13) and coexistent renal disease (HR 4.70; 1.31 to 16.84), while gender, gout characteristics and traditional risk factors showed no impact.Conclusion:Gout was confirmed an independent predictor of subsequent all-cause mortality in patients admitted for cardiovascular events. Active screening for gout allowed identifying a larger population at high mortality risk, which may help tailor optimal management to minimize the cardiovascular impact.References:[1]Calabuig I, et al. Front Med (Lausanne). 2020 Sep 29;7:560.Disclosure of Interests:Silvia Ruiz-Simón: None declared, Irene Calabuig: None declared, Miguel Gomez-Garberi: None declared, Mariano Andrés Speakers bureau: Grunenthal, Menarini, Consultant of: Grunenthal, Grant/research support from: Grunenthal

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Incremental changes in QRS duration as predictor for cardiovascular disease: a 21-year follow-up of a randomly selected general population

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-93024-y ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Xiaojing Chen ◽

Per-Olof Hansson ◽

Erik Thunström ◽

Zacharias Mandalenakis ◽

Kenneth Caidahl ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cardiovascular Disease ◽

General Population ◽

Cardiovascular Events ◽

Population Sample ◽

Cox Regression Analysis ◽

Major Cardiovascular Events ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Qrs Duration ◽

Group 1

AbstractThe QRS complex has been shown to be a prognostic marker in coronary artery disease. However, the changes in QRS duration over time, and its predictive value for cardiovascular disease in the general population is poorly studied. So we aimed to explore if increased QRS duration from the age of 50–60 is associated with increased risk of major cardiovascular events during a further follow-up to age 71. A random population sample of 798 men born in 1943 were examined in 1993 at 50 years of age, and re-examined in 2003 at age 60 and 2014 at age 71. Participants who developed cardiovascular disease before the re-examination in 2003 (n = 86) or missing value of QRS duration in 2003 (n = 127) were excluded. ΔQRS was defined as increase in QRS duration from age 50 to 60. Participants were divided into three groups: group 1: ΔQRS < 4 ms, group 2: 4 ms ≤ ΔQRS < 8 ms, group 3: ΔQRS ≥ 8 ms. Endpoints were major cardiovascular events. And we found compared with men in group 1 (ΔQRS < 4 ms), men with ΔQRS ≥ 8 ms had a 56% increased risk of MACE during follow-up to 71 years of age after adjusted for BMI, systolic blood pressure, smoking, hyperlipidemia, diabetes and heart rate in a multivariable Cox regression analysis (HR 1.56, 95% CI:1.07–2.27, P = 0.022). In conclusion, in this longitudinal follow-up over a decade QRS duration increased in almost two out of three men between age 50 and 60 and the increased QRS duration in middle age is an independent predictor of major cardiovascular events.

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Cardiovascular risk after hospitalisation for unexplained syncope and orthostatic hypotension

Heart ◽

10.1136/heartjnl-2017-311857 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 104 (6) ◽

pp. 487-493 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Ekrem Yasa ◽

Fabrizio Ricci ◽

Martin Magnusson ◽

Richard Sutton ◽

Sabina Gallina ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Heart Failure ◽

Atrial Fibrillation ◽

Cardiovascular Disease ◽

Orthostatic Hypotension ◽

Cardiovascular Events ◽

Hospital Admissions ◽

Cox Regression ◽

All Cause Mortality ◽

Unexplained Syncope ◽

The Impact

ObjectiveTo investigate the relationship of hospital admissions due to unexplained syncope and orthostatic hypotension (OH) with subsequent cardiovascular events and mortality.MethodsWe analysed a population-based prospective cohort of 30 528 middle-aged individuals (age 58±8 years; males, 40%). Adjusted Cox regression models were applied to assess the impact of unexplained syncope/OH hospitalisations on cardiovascular events and mortality, excluding subjects with prevalent cardiovascular disease.ResultsAfter a median follow-up of 15±4 years, 524 (1.7%) and 504 (1.7%) participants were hospitalised for syncope or OH, respectively, yielding 1.2 hospital admissions per 1000 person-years for each diagnosis. Syncope hospitalisations increased with age (HR, per 1 year: 1.07, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.09), higher systolic blood pressure (HR, per 10 mm Hg: 1.06, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.12), antihypertensive treatment (HR: 1.26, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.59), use of diuretics (HR: 1.77, 95% CI 1.31 to 2.38) and prevalent cardiovascular disease (HR: 1.59, 95% CI 1.14 to 2.23), whereas OH hospitalisations increased with age (HR: 1.11, 95% CI 1.08 to 1.12) and prevalent diabetes (HR: 1.82, 95% CI 1.23 to 2.70). After exclusion of 1399 patients with prevalent cardiovascular disease, a total of 473/464 patients were hospitalised for unexplained syncope/OH before any cardiovascular event. Hospitalisation for unexplained syncope predicted coronary events (HR: 1.85, 95% CI 1.49 to 2.30), heart failure (HR: 2.24, 95% CI 1.65 to 3.04), atrial fibrillation (HR: 1.84, 95% CI 1.50 to 2.26), aortic valve stenosis (HR: 2.06, 95% CI 1.28 to 3.32), all-cause mortality (HR: 1.22, 95% CI 1.09 to 1.37) and cardiovascular death (HR: 1.72, 95% CI 1.23 to 2.42). OH-hospitalisation predicted stroke (HR: 1.66, 95% CI 1.24 to 2.23), heart failure (HR: 1.78, 95% CI 1.21 to 2.62), atrial fibrillation (HR: 1.89, 95% CI 1.48 to 2.41) and all-cause mortality (HR: 1.14, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.30).ConclusionsPatients discharged with the diagnosis of unexplained syncope or OH show higher incidence of cardiovascular disease and mortality with only partial overlap between these two conditions.

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