Nephrology Medical News about hypertension, left ventricular hypertrophy, QRS duration, sudden cardiac death

Become a Member Today!
Register

Most Viewed Abstracts

1. Report Shows Shift in Starting Salaries for Physicians

2. 2008 Exclusive Survey—Earnings: Good news for primary care income

3. Medicare pay-for-reporting effort draws fire from frustrated doctors

4. Allopurinol-induced recurrent dress syndrome: Pathophysiology and treatment

5. Debunking Myths in the US Healthcare System

Your Article Summary

See Latest Articles

(Click the title below to leave the MDLinx Network and go to the Journal's Website)

QRS duration predicts sudden cardiac death in hypertensive patients undergoing intensive medical therapy: The LIFE study
European Heart Journal, 08/21/09

Morin DP et al. – In the setting of aggressive antihypertensive therapy, prolonged QRS duration identifies hypertensive pts at higher risk for sudden cardiac death (SCD), even after controlling for left bundle branch block, other known risk factors for SCD, and changes in blood pressure and severity of left ventricular hypertrophy.

Methods

Study of whether QRS duration predicts SCD in pts with left ventricular hypertrophy and treated hypertension

Results

Over 4.8 ± 0.9 yrs follow-up of 9193 hypertensive pts with electrocardiographic evidence of LVH treated with atenolol- or losartan-based regimens, SCD for 178 pts (1.9%)
In multivariable analysis including randomized treatment, changing blood pressure over time, and baseline differences between pts with/without SCD, QRS duration was independently predictive of SCD
Baseline QRS duration remained a significant predictor of SCD even after controlling for presence/absence of left bundle branch block and for changes in ECG LVH severity over study course

Next >>
Nut consumption and incidence of hypertension: The SUN...