1676 Prediction of different causes of mortality by exercise echocardiography in women

Abstract

Abstract Exercise echocardiography (ExE) can predict overall and cardiovascular mortality. We aimed to assess the value of ExE for the prediction of cardiovascular (CV), cancer (CA) and non-cardiovascular non-cancer (NCV-NCA) death in women. Methods Retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data on 4,714 women (age 64 ± 11 years) with a first treadmill ExE performed in our center for known/suspected coronary artery disease. Exclusion criteria were significant valve disease, cardiomyopathy, congenital heart disease, and age <18 year-old. Ischemia was defined as the development of new wall motion abnormalities (WMAs) with exercise; abnormal ExE as ischemia or resting WMAs. A good functional capacity was defined as a maximal workload of 10 metabolic equivalents (METs). The end point was death (CV, CA or NCV-NCA). Results During a follow-up of 4.6± 4.7 years (interquartile range 0.04-8.0 years) there were 345 CV, 164 CA, and 203 NCV-NCA deaths. Multivariate analysis included clinical characteristics, resting echocardiography, exercise testing and peak exercise echocardiography. Different clinical characteristics predicted CV death, along with maximal achieved workload in Metabolic Equivalents (METs: Hazard Ratio [HR] = 0.92, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] = 0.88-0.96, p < 0.001) and ExE variables. CA death was independently predicted by age and achieved METs (HR = 0.93, 95% CI =0.87-0.99, p < 0.02). Similarly NCV-NCA death was predicted by clinical characteristics (age, diabetes mellitus, diuretics, nitrites) and also by achieved METs (HR = 0.83, 95% CI= 0.78-0.88, p < 0.001). Nor ischemia nor abnormal ExE increased the risk for CA or NCV-NCA death. Annualized CV deaths were almost quadruple in women with bad functional capacity as compared to those with good functional capacity (2.2% vs. 0.6%, p < 0.001). The same occurred for NCV-NCA death (1.4% vs. 0.3%, p < 0.001), whereas CA deaths were double in patients with bad functional capacity (0.9% vs. 0.4%, p < 0.001). In conclusion, an ExE study can predict not only CV death, but death due to CA or to NCV-NCA. Fit women based on the achievement of 10 METs during exercise testing, have less chance of death from any cause.