Pulmonary artery systolic pressure and mortality in the oldest old

The objectives of the study were to assess pulmonary artery systolic pressure, its association with clinical and echocardiographic variables and its impact on 5-year mortality in a community-dwelling population of the oldest old.

Subjects were recruited from the Jerusalem Longitudinal Cohort Study. Echocardiography was performed at home, with standard measurements being taken including tricuspid regurgitation (TR) velocity (n = 300). Survival status at 5-year follow-up was assessed via the centralized population registry.

The mean TR gradient in the study population as a whole was 30.5 ± 9.4 mm Hg. A significant relationship was noted between right-ventricular systolic pressure (RVSP) and left-atrial (LA) volume (r = 0.27, p < 0.0001), left-ventricular (LV) mass index (r = 0.26, p < 0.0001) and the ratio E/e (r = 0.19, p < 0.03). At the 5-year follow-up, 71 of the 300 subjects (23.7%) had died. TR gradient was significantly associated with mortality in both the unadjusted (HR 1.036, 95% CI 1.015-1.058; p < 0.007) and adjusted (HR 1.036, 95% CI 1.012-1.061; p < 0.0029) models.

We demonstrate that RVSP is elevated and related to LV mass, LA volume and reduced diastolic function in the oldest old. An elevated RVSP is significantly associated with mortality in this population.