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Published on: April 17, 2021
Ventricular premature beats and mortality of men with coronary heart disease
Insights
Longer electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring detects more ventricular premature beats (VPB) in men with coronary heart disease, identifying a higher-risk group. This improved detection correlates with increased mortality, even when routine ECGs miss the ectopic activity.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Preventive Medicine
- Clinical Electrophysiology
Background:
- Coronary heart disease (CHD) poses significant mortality risks.
- Ventricular premature beats (VPB) are potential indicators of cardiac risk.
- Routine electrocardiogram (ECG) may underestimate the prevalence of VPB.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the frequency and characteristics of VPB in men with CHD.
- To assess the relationship between VPB detection and mortality.
- To compare the diagnostic yield of prolonged ECG monitoring versus routine ECG.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of 1-hour ECG monitoring in 924 men with CHD.
- Correlation of VPB presence and frequency with mortality data.
- Comparison of findings with results from standard 12-lead ECGs.
Main Results:
- Prolonged ECG monitoring identified ectopic activity in 52% of men, compared to 15% with routine ECG.
- Men with VPB during monitoring exhibited higher mortality than those without.
- Mortality risk was elevated in men with ≥10 VPB/hour, irrespective of routine ECG findings.
Conclusions:
- Extended ECG monitoring is superior to routine ECG for detecting VPB in CHD patients.
- VPB identified through longer monitoring are associated with increased mortality.
- Routine ECG may miss significant VPB, underestimating cardiac risk in CHD populations.
Abstract:
Frequency and qualitative characteristics of ventricular premature beats (VPB) are determined from 1 hour of electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring of men with coronary heart disease in a continuing study among members of the Health Insurance Plan of Greater New York. Mortality among 924 such men during an average observation period of 10 months was higher among men with VPB than among those free of VPB. In comparison with the routine 12-lead ECG, the hour of ECG monitoring increased the proportion of men identified as showing ectopic activity from 15% to 52%. Only half of men with 10 or more VPB in the hour of monitoring were noted as having VPB on the routine ECG; mortality among these men was relatively high whether or not VPB appeared on the short sample ECG.
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