Quantitative Doppler-echocardiographic imaging and clinical outcomes with left ventricular systolic dysfunction: independent effect of pulmonary hypertension.
BACKGROUND
Doppler-echocardiography provides quantitative imaging of systolic and diastolic left ventricular (LV) function, functional mitral regurgitation (FMR), and pulmonary hypertension (PH) in patients with LV systolic dysfunction. Whether PH is linked to survival independently of LV features and FMR in symptomatic and asymptomatic patients is unknown.


RESULTS
Patients with LV ejection fraction ≤40% and quantitative Doppler-echocardiography assessment of FMR and PH were studied. Patients were frequency matched for those with Doppler-echocardiography estimated pulmonary systolic pressure ≥45 mm Hg (n=692) and those without PH (n=692; pulmonary systolic pressure, <45 mm Hg) for age, sex, LV ejection fraction, and quantified FMR severity and analyzed for long-term survival after diagnosis. During follow-up (median, 8.9 years), 885 deaths (63.5%) occurred, with PH being associated with higher 5-year mortality: 51±2% versus 37±2%, P<0.001. In multivariate analysis, PH demonstrated increased mortality risk independent of age, sex, severity of diastolic and systolic LV dysfunction, FMR, comorbidities, and symptom (hazard ratio, 1.34; 95% confidence limit, 1.17-1.53; P<0.001). Subgroup analysis, stratified by symptoms, degree of FMR, and severity of LV dysfunction, demonstrated that PH was associated with excess mortality in all subgroups.


CONCLUSIONS
In this large cohort of patients with LV systolic dysfunction, in whom FMR and LV characteristics were quantified and matched between those with and without PH, the presence of PH was an independent factor for excess mortality and not a surrogate for the severity of LV systolic dysfunction or FMR. In asymptomatic or symptomatic patients with or without FMR, PH is a critical marker for poor outcomes.
Division of Cardiovascular Diseases and Department of Biomedical Statistics and Informatics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN.
Wayne L
WL
Miller
Douglas W
DW
Mahoney
Maurice
M
Enriquez-Sarano
D000368:Aged; D015150:Echocardiography, Doppler / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D006976:Hypertension, Pulmonary / Q000150:complications* / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008910:Minnesota / Q000453:epidemiology; D011379:Prognosis; D011669:Pulmonary Wedge Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D013318:Stroke Volume / Q000502:physiology*; D015996:Survival Rate / Q000639:trends; D013599:Systole; D018487:Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D017725:Ventricular Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D020257:Ventricular Remodeling
hypertension, pulmonary; outcomes; systolic dysfunction