Document Detail


Impaired exercise capacity predicts sudden cardiac death in a low-risk population: enhanced specificity with heightened T-wave alternans.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  19301163     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
AIMS: Because sudden cardiac death (SCD) is due to cardiac electrical instability, we postulated that prediction of this mode of death by exercise capacity will be enhanced by combined assessment with T-wave alternans (TWA), an index of repolarization abnormality. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The Finnish Cardiovascular Study enrolled consecutive patients (n=2,044) with a routine clinically indicated exercise test. Exercise capacity was measured in metabolic equivalents (METs) and TWA by time-domain modified moving average method. RESULTS: During 47.2+/-12.8-month follow-up (mean+/-SD) 120 patients died; 58 were cardiovascular deaths, and 29 were SCD. In multivariate analysis after adjustment for sex, age, smoking, use of beta-blockers, as well as other common coronary risk factors, the relative risk of patients whose exercise capacity was depressed (MET < 8) was 8.8 (95% CI 2.0-38.9, P=0.004) for SCD. The combination of low exercise capacity (MET < 8) and elevated TWA (> or =65 microV) yielded relative risks for SCD of 36.1 (6.3-206.0, P<0.001), for cardiovascular mortality of 21.1 (6.7-66.2, P<0.001), and for all-cause mortality of 7.8 (3.5-17.4, P<0.001) over patients with neither factor. CONCLUSIONS: Reduced exercise capacity, particularly in combination with heightened TWA, indicating enhanced cardiac electrical instability, powerfully predicts risk for SCD in patients referred for exercise testing.
Authors:
Mikko Minkkinen; Tuomo Nieminen; Richard L Verrier; Johanna Leino; Terho Lehtimäki; Jari Viik; Rami Lehtinen; Kjell Nikus; Tiit Kööbi; Väinö Turjanmaa; Mika Kähönen
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Comparative Study; Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Annals of medicine     Volume:  41     ISSN:  1365-2060     ISO Abbreviation:  Ann. Med.     Publication Date:  2009  
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2009-05-13     Completed Date:  2009-06-18     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  8906388     Medline TA:  Ann Med     Country:  Sweden    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  380-9     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Medical School, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland.
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Arrhythmias, Cardiac / mortality,  physiopathology*
Death, Sudden, Cardiac / epidemiology*
Electrocardiography*
Exercise Test / methods*
Exercise Tolerance / physiology*
Female
Finland / epidemiology
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Population Surveillance*
Prognosis
Retrospective Studies
Risk Factors
Survival Rate / trends
Time Factors

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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