Impact of elevated systolic arterial pulmonary pressure on the total mortality rate after acute myocardial infarction in the elderly.

Reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) is associated with increased mortality after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). However, the prognostic impact of elevated systolic pulmonary artery pressure (sPAP) in the very elderly patients after AMI is lacking. We aimed to study the impact of elevated sPAP on one- and five-year all-cause mortality after AMI in very elderly patients, 80 years of age and older. Of a total number of 353 patients (≥ 80 years) who were hospitalized with acute coronary syndrome, 162 patients presenting with AMI and with available data of sPAP on echocardiography were included and followed-up for 5 years. The survival analyses were performed using Cox-Regression models adjusted for conventional risk factors including LVEF. Altogether 66 of 162 patients (41%) had ST-segment elevation MI, and 121 (75%) of patients were treated with percutaneous coronary intervention in the acute phase. Echocardiography during the admission revealed that 78 patients (48%) had a LVEF ≤ 45% and 66 patients (41%) had a sPAP ≥ 40 mmHg. After one and five years of follow-up, 23% (n = 33) and 53% (n = 86) of patients died, respectively. A multivariable Cox-Regression analysis showed that the elevated sPAP (≥ 40 mmHg) was an independent predictor of increased mortality in both one and five years after AMI; HR of 2.63 (95%, CI 1.19-5.84, P 0.017) and HR of 2.08 (95%, CI 1.25-3.44, P 0.005) respectively, whereas LVEF ≤ 45% did not show any statistically significant impact, neither on one- nor on five-year mortality (HR 1.3, 95% CI 0.6-2.9, p = 0.469) and (HR 1.4, 95% CI 0.8-2.4, p = 0.158), respectively. Elevated sPAP was an independent risk factor for one- and five-year all-cause mortality after AMI in very elderly patients and sPAP seems to be a better prognostic predictor for all-cause mortality than LVEF. The risk of all-cause mortality after AMI increased with increasing sPAP.

Body iron stores had no impact on coronary heart disease outcomes: a middle-aged male cohort from the general population with 21-year follow-up.

BACKGROUND: Body iron stores (BISs) have been proposed to be related to the development of cardiovascular diseases. However, results from epidemiological studies are conflicting. Knowledge on the long-term impact of BIS on cardiovascular outcomes in the general population is lacking. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between BIS and coronary heart disease (CHD) including death due to CHD. METHODS: This investigation is part of 'The Study of Men Born in 1943', a longitudinal prospective study of men living in the city of Gothenburg, Sweden. This random population sample was examined in 1993 (all at 50 years of age at baseline). A medical examination was performed, and questionnaires were used to evaluate lifestyle factors. Biomarkers for iron stores (serum ferritin and serum transferrin receptor) was analysed from frozen blood samples in 2014. All hospital admissions were registered through national registers during the entire follow-up from 1993 to 2014. HRs were estimated by Cox proportional-hazard regression analyses. RESULTS: During the 21 years follow-up period, 120 participants (15.2%) developed CHD and 16 patients (2%) died due to CHD. The all-cause mortality was 15.2% (n=120) including 40 cardiovascular deaths (5.1%). In a multivariable Cox regression analysis, the daily smoking, hypertension and the increased resting heart rate was independent predictors of CHD, while no significant association was found between BIS and risk of CHD. CONCLUSIONS: In a cohort of middle-aged men from the general population with well validated and prospectively collected data, we did not find any association between serum ferritin or serum transferrin receptor as markers of BIS and CHD events after 21 years of follow-up. TRAIL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT03138122.

High-normal blood pressure conferred higher risk of cardiovascular disease in a random population sample of 50-year-old men: A 21-year follow-up.

The relationship between various categories of blood pressure (BP), subtypes of hypertension, and development of cardiovascular disease (CVD) have not been extensively studied. Therefore, our study aimed to explore this relationship in a random population sample of men born in 1943, living in Sweden and followed over a 21-year period.Participants were examined for the first time in 1993 (age 50 years), where data on medical history, concomitant diseases, and general health were collected. The examination was repeated in 2003 and with additional echocardiography also in 2014. Classification of participants according to their BP at the age of 50 years was as follows: optimal-normal BP (systolic blood pressure [SBP] <130 and diastolic BP [DBP] <85 mmHg), high-normal BP (130 ≤ SBP < 140, 85 ≤ DBP < 90 mmHg), isolated systolic-diastolic hypertension (ISH-IDH) (SBP ≥140 and DBP <90 or SBP <140 and DBP ≥90 mmHg), and systolic-diastolic hypertension (SDH) (SBP ≥140 and DBP ≥90 mmHg).During the follow-up, the incidence of heart failure (HF), CVD, and coronary heart disease were all lowest for those with optimal-normal BP. Participants with high-normal BP showed greater wall thickness and left ventricular mass index, larger LV size and larger left atrial size when compared with the optimal-normal BP group. Furthermore, those with high-normal BP, ISH-IDH, and SDH had a higher risk of CVD than those with optimal-normal BP. The adjusted relative risk of CVD was highest for SDH (hazard ratio [HR] 1.95; 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.37-2.79), followed by ISH-IDH (HR 1.34; 95% CI 0.93-1.95) and high-normal BP (HR 1.31; 95% CI 0.91-1.89).Over a 21-year follow-up, the participants with high-normal BP or ISH-IDH had a higher relative risk of CVD than those with optimal-normal BP.

Impact of changes in heart rate with age on all-cause death and cardiovascular events in 50-year-old men from the general population.

Background: Resting heart rate (RHR), a known cardiovascular risk factor, changes with age. However, little is known about the association between changes in RHR and the risk of cardiovascular events. The purpose of this study was therefore to assess the impact of RHR at baseline, and the change in RHR over time, on the risk of all-cause death and cardiovascular events. Design: A random population sample of men born in 1943 who were living in Gothenburg, Sweden was prospectively followed for a 21-year period. Methods: Participants were examined three times: first in 1993 and then re-examined in 2003 and 2014. At each visit, a clinical examination, an ECG and laboratory analyses were performed. Change in RHR between 1993 and 2003 was defined as a decrease if RHR decreased by 5 beats per minute (bpm), an increase if RHR increased by 5 bpm or stable if the RHR change was <4bpm). Results: Participants with a baseline RHR of >75 bpm in 1993 had about a twofold higher risk of all-cause death (HR 2.3, CI 1.2 to 4.7, p=0.018), cardiovascular disease (CVD) (HR 1.8, CI 1.1 to 3.0, p=0.014) and coronary heart disease (CHD) (HR 2.2, CI 1.1 to 4.5, p=0.025) compared with those with <55 bpm in 1993. Participants with a stable RHR between 1993 and 2003 had a 44% decreased risk of CVD (HR 0.56, CI 0.35 to 0.87, p=0.011) compared with participants with an increasing RHR. Furthermore, every beat increase in heart rate from 1993 was associated with a 3% higher risk for all-cause death, 1% higher risk for CVD and 2% higher risk for CHD. Conclusion: High RHR was associated with an increased risk of death and cardiovascular events in men from the general population. Moreover, individuals with an increase in RHR between 50 and 60 years of age had worse outcome.

Improved short and long term survival associated with percutaneous coronary intervention in the elderly patients with acute coronary syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) are increasingly used in daily clinical practice in elderly patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) despite limited evidence. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of PCI on short and long term survivals in a large cohort of elderly patients with ACS from a "real world". METHODS: We enrolled 491 patients aged ≥70 years admitted to our institution with ACS from 2006 to 2012. Effect of PCI on short and long term survival was evaluated in both overall and a propensity score-matched cohort. RESULTS: The mean age of the overall cohort is 83 ± 6 years. Among them, 285 were treated with PCI, whereas 206 were not. Patients treated with PCI were younger (82 ± 5 vs. 85 ± 6), more males (67% vs. 46%), with lower heart rate (77 ± 22 vs. 84 ± 21), higher eGFR (58 ± 20 vs. 47 ± 23), and less with heart failure (29% vs. 15%) (all p < 0.001). In both overall and propensity-matched population, improved survival was associated with PCI-treatment at 1 and 3 years (p < 0.001 for all comparisons). Furthermore, by using multivariate Cox proportional-hazards regression model following factors were identified as independent predictors of 3-year all-cause mortality: age (HR 1.08, 95% CI 1.00-1.16), heart rate (HR 1.02, 95% CI 1.01-1.03), eGFR (HR 3.07, 95% CI 1.63-5.77), malignancy (HR 2.03, 95% CI 1.27-4.57), prior CABG (HR 2.033, 95% CI 1.27-4.57), medication with statin (HR 0.40, 95% CI 0.19-0.86) in PCI group, whereas age (HR 1.08, 95% CI 1.03-1.13), heart rate (HR 1.01, 95% CI 1.01-1.02), hypertension (HR 1.87, 95% CI 1.01-3.49) and using of ACEI/ARB (HR 0.46, 95% CI 0.28-0.76) in non-PCI group. CONCLUSIONS: In elderly ACS patients, PCI-treatment was associated with improved 1 and 3-year survival and PCI-treated patients had different prognostic profile compared to those without PCI treatment.

Impact of systolic pulmonary artery pressure on all-cause mortality in elderly cardiac patients.

OBJECTIVE: Elevated systolic pulmonary artery pressure (sPAP) is common among elderly patients with cardiac and pulmonary diseases. The lowest level of sPAP associated with increased mortality rate in octogenarians with cardiac diseases is however not sufficiently studied. Therefore, the present study aimed to identify the lowest level of sPAP associated with increased 5-year all-cause mortality in this patient group. DESIGN: Of 538 octogenarians presented at the three Sahlgrenska University Hospitals (Sahlgrenska, Östra and Mölndal) with either congestive heart failure (CHF) or acute coronary syndrome (ACS), only 302 patients who had undergone echocardiography with data on sPAP were included in the present study. In order to identify the lowest level of sPAP associated with increased mortality rate, Cox proportional-hazard regression multivariable models were built for sPAP levels as low as 30 mmHg and upward with 5 mmHg intervals. RESULTS: sPAP >35 mmHg was identified as the lowest level associated with increased 5-year all-cause mortality (HR = 1.7, 95% of CI = 1.1-2.6 and p = .013). Every increase of 5 mmHg in sPAP was associated with a 10% increased relative risk for all-cause mortality. CONCLUSIONS: In octogenarians with cardiac diseases the lowest level of sPAP associated with increased all-cause mortality was >35 mmHg and the mortality rate increased with increasing sPAP.

Octogenarians died mainly of cardiovascular diseases five years after acute coronary syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: A substantial part of deaths and readmissions in octogenarians with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is assumed to be of non-cardiovascular causes. However, limited data on cause-specific long-term mortality and hospital readmissions are available. This study was aimed to investigate 5-year cause-specific deaths and re-hospitalizations as well as their prognostic predictors among octogenarians with ACS managed with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). METHODS: A total of 181 octogenarians managed with PCI on ACS indication during 2006-2007 at Sahlgrenska University Hospital were included. The time-period was chosen to allow a follow-up period of five years. RESULTS: All-cause 5-year mortality was 46%. Approximately 70% of deaths were cardiovascular. All-cause hospital readmissions were 71%. The majority of readmissions were due to non-cardiovascular diseases, 61% of all readmissions. Cox proportional-hazard regression analyses for cardiovascular mortality identified female sex and culprit lesion in left coronary arteries as independent predictors. Negative binomial regression models showed female sex and complications during index hospitalization as independent predictors of increased cardiovascular re-hospitalizations and prior smoking as independent predictor of increased non-cardiovascular re-hospitalizations. CONCLUSIONS: In an octogenarian cohort presented with ACS treated with PCI, cardiovascular diseases were the main causes of deaths, whereas non-cardiovascular diseases were the main causes of re-hospitalizations.

Acute coronary syndrome in octogenarians: association between percutaneous coronary intervention and long-term mortality.

AIM: Evidence of improved survival after use of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in elderly patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is limited. We assessed the association between PCI and long-term mortality in octogenarians with ACS. METHODS AND RESULTS: We followed 353 consecutive patients aged ≥80 years hospitalized with ACS during 2006-2007. Among them, 182 were treated with PCI, whereas 171 were not. PCI-treated patients were younger and more often male, and had less stroke and dependency in activities of daily living, but there were no significant differences in occurrence of diabetes mellitus, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hypertension, and uncured malignancies between the two groups. The association between PCI and all-cause mortality was assessed in the overall cohort and a 1:1 matched cohort based on propensity score (PS). In overall cohort, 5-year all-cause mortality was 46.2% and 89.5% in the PCI and non-PCI groups, respectively. Cox regression analysis in overall cohort by adjustment for ten baseline variables showed statistically significant association between PCI and reduced long-term mortality (P<0.001, hazard ratio 0.4, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.2-0.5). In propensity-matched cohort, 5-year all-cause mortality was 54.9% and 83.1% in the PCI and non-PCI groups, respectively. Kaplan-Meier survival curves and log rank test showed significantly improved mean survival rates (P=0.001): 48 months (95% CI 41-54) for PCI-treated patients versus 35 months (95% CI 29-42) for non-PCI-treated patients. Furthermore, by performing Cox regression analysis, PCI was still associated with reduced long-term mortality (P=0.029, hazard ratio 0.5, 95% CI 0.3-0.9) after adjustment for PS and confounders: age, male sex, cognitive deterioration, uncured malignancies, left ventricular ejection fraction ≤45%, estimated glomerular filtration rate ≤35 mL/min, ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, mitral regurgitation, and medication at discharge with clopidogrel and statins. CONCLUSION: In octogenarians with ACS, PCI was associated with improved survival from all-cause death over 5 years of follow-up.

Does the target dose of neurohormonal blockade matter for outcome in Systolic heart failure in octogenarians?

BACKGROUND: In elderly patients with chronic heart failure (CHF), a gap exists between widespread use of lower doses of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs)/angiotensin-receptor blockers (ARBs) and ß-blockers (BBs) and guideline recommendations. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate whether patients receiving ≥ 50% target dose outperform those receiving <50% target dose, despite maximum up-titration, and whether the target dose outperforms all other doses. METHODS AND RESULTS: Patients (n=185) aged ≥ 80 years with CHF and left ventricular ejection fraction ≤ 40% referred (between January 2000 and January 2008) to two CHF outpatient clinics at two university hospitals, were included and retrospectively studied. Of the study population, 53% received the target dose of ACEIs/ARBs, whereas 26% received <50% of the target dose. Half received <50% of the target dose of BBs and 21% received the target dose. After ≥ 5 years of follow-up, all-cause mortality was 76.8%. Patients who received the target dose of ACEIs/ARBs had higher survival rates from all-cause mortality than those receiving <50% of target dose (HR=0.6, 95%CI 0.4-0.9, P=0.033), but those receiving ≥ 50% of target dose did not statistically differ from those who achieved target dose. This dose-survival relationship was not the case for BBs. CONCLUSIONS: Target dose of ACEIs/ARBs is associated with reduced all-cause five-year mortality in very old patients with systolic heart failure, despite that this was achievable in only about half of the patients. However, the clinical outcome of BB therapy is independent of BB dose when the target heart rate is achieved.