SEX, AGE, AND DISEASE AFFECT ECHOCARDIOGRAPHIC LEFT-VENTRICULAR MASS AND SYSTOLIC FUNCTION IN THE FREE-LIVING ELDERLY - THE CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH STUDY

Background Left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy, as measured by M-mode ec hocardiography, is an independent predictor of mortality and/or morbid ity from coronary heart disease (CHD). LV global and segmental systoli c dysfunction also have been associated with myocardial ischemia and c ardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Echocardiographic data, especia lly two-dimensional, have not been available previously from multicent er-based studies of the elderly. This report describes the distributio n and relation at baseline of echocardiographic LV mass and global and segmental LV wall motion to age, sex, and clinical disease category i n the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS), a cohort of 5201 men and wome n (4850 white) 65 years of age and older. Methods and Results M-mode L V mass adjusted for body weight increased modestly with age (P<.0001), increasing less than one gram per year increase in age for both men a nd women. After adjustment for weight, LV mass was significantly great er in men than in women and in participants with clinical CHD compared with participants with neither clinical heart disease nor hypertensio n (both P<.001). Across all CHS age subgroups, the difference in weigh t-adjusted LV mass by sex was greater in magnitude than the difference related to clinical CHD. M-mode measurements of LV mass could not be made in 34% of CHS participants, and this was highly related to age (2 9% in the 65 to 69 year versus 50% in the 85+ year age group, P<.001) and other risk factors. In participants with clinical CHD and with nei ther clinical heart disease nor hypertension, LV ejection fraction and segmental wall motion abnormalities were more prevalent in men than w omen (all P<.001). Of interest, 0.5% of men and 0.4% of women with nei ther clinical heart disease nor hypertension had LV segmental wall mot ion abnormalities, suggesting silent disease, compared with 26% of men and 10% of women in the clinical CHD group (P<.0001). Multivariate an alyses revealed male sex and presence of clinical CHD (both P<.001) to be independent predictors of LV akinesis or dyskinesis. Conclusions S ignificant baseline relations were detected between differences in sex , prevalent disease status, and echocardiographic measurements of LV m ass and systolic function in the CHS cohort. Age was weakly associated with LV mass measurements and LV ejection fraction abnormalities. The se relations should be considered in evaluating the preclinical and cl inical effects of CHD risk factors in the elderly.