Electrocardiographic findings in patients with chronic spinal cord injury.
OBJECTIVE
To demonstrate the prevalence and prognostic value of electrocardiographic abnormalities in patients with chronic spinal cord injury.


METHODS
All electrocardiographs obtained in the Palo Alto Veterans Affairs Medical Center since 1987 have been digitally recorded and stored in a computerized database. For this study, only the first electrocardiograph was considered for analysis. The subjects were divided according to age and level of spinal cord injury. The Social Security Death Index was used to ascertain vital status as of December 1999.


RESULTS
Annual mortality was similar in those with chronic spinal cord injury and the able-bodied. However, individuals with a higher level of injury had a significantly higher death rate than those with a lower level of injury. The prognostic characteristics of electrocardiographic abnormalities were similar in both the able-bodied and those with spinal cord injury.


CONCLUSIONS
In general, electrocardiographic abnormalities had the same prevalence in the spinal cord injury subjects as in the able-bodied ones. The prognostic value of electrocardiographic abnormalities in subjects with spinal cord injury is similar to that observed in able-bodied subjects.
Prakash
Manish
M
Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Stanford University Medical Center and the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, California 94304, USA.
Raxwal
Vinod
V
Froelicher
Victor F
VF
Kalisetti
Damayanthi
D
Vieira
Amy
A
O'Mara
Gail
G
Marcus
Rachel
R
Myers
Jonathan
J
Kiratli
Jenny
J
Perkash
Inder
I
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004562:Electrocardiography; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015995:Prevalence; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D016019:Survival Analysis