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Edward M Dwyer

Publications and source records attributed to Edward M Dwyer.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

Prognosis of patients with left ventricular diastolic pressure abnormality: a long-term survival study in patients without coronary artery disease.

BACKGROUND: Given that an elevated left ventricular (LV) end-diastolic pressure reflects an abnormality of diastolic function, we analyzed the outcome of this finding in patients without coronary artery disease (CAD). HYPOTHESIS: The degree to which diastolic dysfunction influences mortality has been confounded in most studies by CAD and advanced age. METHODS: We performed a retrospective study of 876 patients with normal coronary arteries on arteriography. Of these, 115 patients had a left ventricular end-diastolic pressure of > or = 15 mmHg with an ejection fraction (EF) > or = 50%. We compared the mortality in this group (Group A) with the reported outcome in the general population, adjusted for age, gender, and race, as well as the mortality of a group of patients from the same cohort (Group B) with both diastolic and systolic dysfunction (n = 60), defined as a LVEF < 50%. RESULTS: Follow-up was for a mean of 63 months. In Group A, all-cause mortality was 5% (six patients); two deaths were from cardiac causes. The mean annual mortality in this group (1.2%) was similar to the adjusted annual mortality of the general population (1.1%), and it was significantly lower than the annual mortality (6%) in Group B (p < 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Our study results indicate that diastolic dysfunction with a normal EF, in the absence of CAD and systolic dysfunction, has an excellent prognosis over a long period (5-6 years).

Aged↗

Atherosclerotic risk genotypes and recurrent coronary events after myocardial infarction.

The association of a group of prespecified atherosclerotic risk genotypes with recurrent coronary events (coronary-related death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, or unstable angina) was investigated in a cohort of 1,008 patients after infarction during an average follow-up of 28 months. We used a carrier-ship approach with time-dependent survivorship analysis to evaluate the average risk of each carried genotype. Contrary to expectation, the hazard ratio for recurrent coronary events per carried versus noncarried genotype was 0.89 (95% confidence interval 0.80 to 0.99, p = 0.03) after adjustment for relevant genetic, clinical, and environmental covariates. This hazard ratio, derived from the 7 prespecified genotypes, indicated an average 11% reduction in the risk of recurrent coronary events per carried versus noncarried genotype. At 1 year after hospital discharge, the cumulative probability of recurrent coronary events was 26% in those who carried < or =1, 20% for those with 2 to 4, and 13% for those with > or =5 of these genotypes (p = 0.02). This unexpected risk reversal is a likely consequence of changes in the mix of risk factors in pre- and postinfarction populations. In conclusion, this under appreciated, population-based, risk-reversal phenomenon may explain the inconsistent associations of genetic risk factors with outcome events in previous reports involving coronary populations with different risk attributes.

Aged↗

Electrocardiographic diagnosis of left ventricular hypertrophy: the effect of left ventricular wall thickness, size, and mass on the specific criteria for left ventricular hypertrophy.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of our study was to determine the relative importance and effect of an increased left ventricle wall thickness, left ventricular diastolic diameter, and left ventricular mass (LVM) on the performance of the 4 major electrocardiogram (ECG) criteria of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and to determine how these findings could be incorporated into the routine ECG interpretation of LVH. METHODS: The ECG criteria of LVH that we chose to examine were voltage, repolarization abnormalities, left atrial abnormality, and ventricular conduction time. We analyzed data from 608 consecutive patients with left ventricular wall thickness of >13 mm on the echocardiogram and with a concurrent ECG. We arbitrarily divided patients into 3 groups (groups I-III) according to the calculated LVM. Group I had an LVM of <400 g; group II had an LVM from 400 to 600 g, and group III had an LVM of >600 g. We evaluated the effect of increasing LVM, wall thickness, and ventricular diameter on the performance of the 4 ECG criteria at different severity of thickness, diameter, and mass. RESULTS: An increase in the echocardiogram-derived LVM had significant effect on all 4 ECG criteria. As LVM progressively increased from groups I to III, the frequency of voltage criteria for LVH increased from 52% to 83%; left atrial abnormality rose from 46% to 68%; ST-T wave changes increases from 55% to 95%, and QRS prolongation significantly increased from 42% to 70%. CONCLUSION: Increased wall thickness and ventricular diameter failed to correlate with the overall ECG score or significantly influence the frequency of any of the 4 ECG criteria for LVH in patients when LVM was held relatively constant. We also demonstrated that an increasing number of criteria on the ECG are associated with a greater mean LVM.

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