Electrocardiographic J Wave and Cardiovascular Outcomes in the General Population (from the Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities Study).
The association between the J wave, a key component of the early repolarization pattern, and adverse cardiovascular outcomes remains unclear. Inconsistencies have stemmed from the different methods used to measure the J wave. We examined the association between the J wave, detected by an automated method, and adverse cardiovascular outcomes in 14,592 (mean age = 54 ± 5.8 years; 56% women; 26% black) participants from the Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities (ARIC) study. The J wave was detected at baseline (1987 to 1989) and during follow-up study visits (1990 to 1992, 1993 to 1995, and 1996 to 1998) using a fully automated method. Sudden cardiac death, coronary heart disease death, and cardiovascular mortality were ascertained from hospital discharge records, death certificates, and autopsy data through December 31, 2010. A total of 278 participants (1.9%) had evidence of a J wave. Over a median follow-up of 22 years, 4,376 of the participants (30%) died. In a multivariable Cox regression analysis adjusted for demographics, cardiovascular risk factors, and potential confounders, the J wave was not associated with an increased risk of sudden cardiac death (hazard ratio [HR] 0.74, 95% CI 0.36 to 1.50), coronary heart disease death (HR 0.72, 95% CI 0.40 to 1.32), or cardiovascular mortality (HR 1.16, 95% CI 0.87 to 1.56). An interaction was detected for cardiovascular mortality by gender with men (HR 1.54, 95% CI 1.09 to 2.19) having a stronger association than women (HR 0.74, 95% CI 0.43 to 1.25; P-interaction = 0.030). In conclusion, our findings suggest that the J wave is a benign entity that is not associated with an increased risk for sudden cardiac arrest in middle-aged adults in the United States.
Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia. Electronic address: wesley.oneal@emory.edu.
Wesley T
WT
O'Neal
Department of Mathematics and Information Initiative, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.
Yi Grace
YG
Wang
Department of Mathematics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Hau-Tieng
HT
Wu
Department of Epidemiology and Prevention, Epidemiological Cardiology Research Center, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Zhu-Ming
ZM
Zhang
Department of Epidemiology and Prevention, Epidemiological Cardiology Research Center, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Yabing
Y
Li
Department of Cardiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland; Knight Cardiovascular Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon.
Larisa G
LG
Tereshchenko
Department of Community and Family Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina.
E Harvey
EH
Estes
Department of Mathematics and Information Initiative, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.
Ingrid
I
Daubechies
Department of Epidemiology and Prevention, Epidemiological Cardiology Research Center, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Section on Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Elsayed Z
EZ
Soliman
D001741:Black or African American; D053840:Brugada Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000075224:Cardiac Conduction System Disease; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality*; D016757:Death, Sudden, Cardiac / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People