Heart volume and cardiovascular mortality. A 16 year follow-up study of 1984 healthy middle-aged men.
The possible association between heart size measured during a cardiovascular screening examination and cardiovascular mortality was studied in 1984 healthy men aged 40-59 years. At the 16-year follow-up 278 had died, 150 from cardiovascular diseases. Cardiovascular mortality was 2.2 times higher among the 122 men with heart size > or = 500 ml.m-2 than among those with heart size < 500 ml.m-2. This association was, however, exclusively confined to men with physical fitness below median in whom the corresponding mortality ratio was 4.6 (95% confidence interval 2.5-8.4; P < 0.001) after adjustment for age, smoking, cholesterol, blood pressure and heart rate. Heart size measurements from routine chest X-rays is fast, easy, inexpensive and appears to provide valuable, independent screening information in healthy, middle-aged men.
Department of Cardiology, University Hospital (Rikshospitalet) of Oslo, Norway.
L
L
Sandvik
J
J
Erikssen
E
E
Thaulow
G
G
Erikssen
R
R
Mundal
T
T
Aakhus
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002306:Cardiac Volume; D006332:Cardiomegaly / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000401:mortality* / Q000517:prevention & control; D002423:Cause of Death; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009664:Norway / Q000453:epidemiology; D010809:Physical Fitness; D012307:Risk Factors