title: Restrictive diastolic filling predicts death after acute myocardial infarction: systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine, through a systematic review and meta-analysis, the magnitude of the survival deficit associated with a restrictive filling pattern after acute myocardial infarction (AMI).
  
  
  METHODS
  Online databases were searched for prospective echocardiography outcome studies of patients after AMI. All authors were contacted to seek confirmation of their data. Restrictive filling was compared with all non-restrictive filling patterns. Review Manager Version 4.2.7 software was used for analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  3855 patients in 16 studies were identified. Follow up varied from two weeks to five years (> 1 year, 10 studies; and > 4 years, four studies). 776 (20%) of patients had a restrictive filling pattern at baseline. 580 patients died (247 in the restrictive group), and the overall odds ratio for death (restrictive filling worse) was 4.10 (95% confidence interval 3.38 to 4.99).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Mortality is about four times higher in patients with a restrictive filling pattern than in those with non-restrictive filling patterns after AMI. Echocardiographic assessment of diastolic filling pattern is an important part of the echocardiographic assessment of patients after myocardial infarction and provides important prognostic information about such patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand. g.whalley@auckland.ac.nz
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Whalley
authors.forename: G D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Gamble
authors.forename: R N
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Doughty
mesh_terms: D003971:Diastole; D006801:Humans; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000401:mortality* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D018487:Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / Q000401:mortality* / Q000503:physiopathology