Right and left bundle branch block as predictors of long-term mortality following myocardial infarction

Christian Lewinter, Christian Torp-Pedersen, John G F Cleland, Lars Køber

    30 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Aims Patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI) with bundle branch block (BBB) have a poor prognosis, but distinction between left (L)-and right (R)-sided BBB is seldom made in epidemiological studies. We studied long-term mortality associated with RBBB and LBBB in the TRAndolapril Cardiac Evaluation (TRACE) study. Methods and resultsTRACE screened consecutive patients presenting with an MI and recorded clinical, electro-and echo-cardiographic variables. Subsequently, deaths were recorded during a minimum follow-up of 15 years. In total, 6676 consecutive patients with MI were hospitalized at 27 centres in Denmark. Of these, 533 (8) had BBB, of whom 260 (4) had RBBB and 273 (4) had LBBB. Overall, 5196 (78) patients died, 256 (94) with LBBB and 235 (90) with RBBB compared with 4705 (77) of those without BBB (P < 0.001). In multivariable analyses, hazard ratios (HRs) of RBBB and LBBB were 1.23 [95 confidence interval (CI), 1.071.42] and 1.05 (95 CI, 0.911.20), respectively. There was interaction between each type of BBB and left ventricular (LV) systolic function (P 0.02). Right BBB was associated with a worse prognosis in patients with reduced LV systolic function [HR 1.31 with wall motion index (WMI) ≤ 1.5 (95 CI, 1.111.55] while LBBB had a poor prognosis in patients with preserved LV systolic (HR if WMI > 1.5, 1.70; 95 CI, 1.122.57). ConclusionsRight BBB was a predictor of increased mortality in patients with reduced LV systolic function, whereas LBBB was a marker of increased mortality in patients with preserved LV systolic function.

    Original languageEnglish
    JournalEuropean Journal of Heart Failure
    Volume13
    Issue number12
    Pages (from-to)1349-54
    Number of pages6
    ISSN1388-9842
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Dec 2011

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