title: Time course of recovery of left ventricular systolic dysfunction in patients with premature ventricular contraction-induced cardiomyopathy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Idiopathic ventricular arrhythmias in the form of frequent, monomorphic premature ventricular contractions (PVC) can cause PVC-induced cardiomyopathy (PICMP). The aim of this study was to determine the baseline echocardiographic characteristics and the time course and degree of recovery of left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction in patients with PICMP.
  
  
  METHODS
  Study population consisted of 348 consecutive patients (205F/143M, 44 ± 19 y/o) with frequent PVCs and/or ventricular tachycardia. PICMP was defined as LV ejection fraction (LVEF) of <55% in the absence of any detectable underlying heart disease and improvement of LVEF ≥ 15% following treatment of ventricular arrhythmia. Patients with PCIMP underwent transthoracic echocardiography for LV size and function at 1 week and at 1-3 to 6-12 months of follow-up.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-four patients (8F/16M, 47 ± 18 y/o) with PICMP with complete echocardiographic data were included in the study. Average baseline LV end-diastolic diameter, LV end-systolic volume, LV mass index, and LVEF were 55.4 ± 6.8 mm, 69.6 ± 23.3 mL, 110.2 ± 28.3 g/m2, and 41 ± 8.4%, respectively. Mild-to-moderate mitral regurgitation (MR) was present in 13 (54%) patients. Early improvement (≥25% increase in LVEF at 1-week follow-up compared to baseline) was observed in 13 (54%) patients. Patients with early improvement had higher LVEF at 12 months of follow-up compared to patients without early improvement (58.8 ± 5.0% vs 52.5 ± 6.7%, P = 0.019).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  PCIMP is characterized by mild-to-moderate global LV systolic dysfunction with slightly increased LV mass and mild-to-moderate MR. Greatest improvement in LV systolic dysfunction was observed at 1-week follow-up in our study population. Early improvement in LVEF may potentially predict the complete reversibility of LV systolic dysfunction.
authors: Department of Cardiology, Ege University School of Medicine, Izmir, Turkey.
authors: Can
authors: C
authors: Hasdemır
authors: Yıldırım
authors: Y
authors: Kartal
authors: Evrım
authors: E
authors: Sımsek
authors: Oguz
authors: O
authors: Yavuzgıl
authors: Mehmet
authors: M
authors: Aydın
authors: Levent H
authors: LH
authors: Can
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D009202:Cardiomyopathies / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D015897:Comorbidity; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D020127:Recovery of Function; D018570:Risk Assessment; D014421:Turkey; D018487:Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D018879:Ventricular Premature Complexes / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D055815:Young Adult