title: Prognostic value of pulmonary hypertension in ambulatory patients with non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Pulmonary hypertension (PH) because of left-sided heart disease carries a poor prognosis. We investigated whether non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) with PH is associated with poor prognosis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 256 consecutive DCM patients were enrolled. We measured the ratio of the maximum first derivative of left ventricular pressure (LVdP/dtmax)/systolic blood pressure and pressure half-time (T1/2) as cardiac function. Patients were allocated to 2 groups on the basis of mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP), namely DCM without PH group (mPAP <25 mmHg; n=225) and DCM with PH group (mPAP ≥25 mmHg; n=31). We followed all patients for a mean of 4.3 years for the occurrence of cardiac events, defined as cardiac death or hospitalization for worsening heart failure. Cardiac events were significantly more frequent in the DCM with PH group than in the DCM without PH group (P<0.001). Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that mPAP ≥25 mmHg and LV end-systolic volume index were significant independent risk factors for cardiac death. Incidence of cardiac death was significantly higher in patients with DCM with PH than in those without PH [hazard ratio 11.79 (3.18-43.7), P<0.0001].
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The presence of PH was independently associated with an increased incidence of cardiac death in ambulatory patients with DCM.
authors.affiliation: Department of Advanced Medicine in Cardiopulmonary Disease, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine.
authors.forename: Akihiro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hirashiki
authors.forename: Takahisa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kondo
authors.forename: Shiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Adachi
authors.forename: Yoshihisa
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakano
authors.forename: Shuzo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shimazu
authors.forename: Shinya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shimizu
authors.forename: Ryota
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Morimoto
authors.forename: Takahiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Okumura
authors.forename: Toyoaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Murohara
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D062186:Arterial Pressure; D002311:Cardiomyopathy, Dilated / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology; D003643:Death; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D006976:Hypertension, Pulmonary / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010045:Outpatients; D011651:Pulmonary Artery / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015996:Survival Rate