Biering-Sørensen T, et al. - Researchers sought to determine the utility of left ventricular ejection time (LVET) to forecast cardiovascular morbidity. In a community-based cohort, LVET was noted to be an independent prognosticator of incident heart failure (HF) and, when added to known risk prediction models, offered incremental predictive information on future HF risk and death.

Methods

• From one of four cohorts of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study (Jackson cohort, n=1,980), middle-aged African-Americans who underwent echocardiography between 1993 and 1995 were studied.
• Researchers measured LVET by pulsed-wave Doppler of the left ventricular outflow tract and related it to outcomes.

Results

• They noted a shorter LVET to be connected to younger age, male sex, higher diastolic blood pressure, higher proportion of diabetes, higher heart rate, higher blood glucose levels and worse fractional shortening.
• Three hundred eighty-four (19%) had incident HF, 158 (8%) had a myocardial infarction, and 587 (30%) died during a median follow-up of 17.6 years.
• Univariable analysis showed increased risk of all events had a significant association with a lower LVET (P<0.05 for all).
• After multivariable adjustment for age, sex, hypertension, diabetes, body mass index, heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, fractional shortening and left atrial diameter, however, LVET seemed to be an independent predictor only of incident HF (hazard ratio 1.07 [1.02–1.14], P=0.010 per 10 ms decrease).
• Additionally, in regard to predicting all outcomes (except myocardial infarction) incremental predictive information to the known risk factors included in the Framingham risk score was gained via LVET.