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Myocardial viability assessed by dobutamine stress echocardiography predicts reduced mortality early after acute myocardial infarction: determining the risk of events after myocardial infarction (DREAM) study
  1. J M A Swinburn,
  2. R Senior
  1. Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Northwick Park Hospital, Harrow, Middlesex, UK
  1. Correspondence to:
    Dr Roxy Senior
    Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Northwick Park Hospital, Watford Road, Harrow, Middlesex HA1 3UJ, UK; roxy.senior{at}virgin.net

Abstract

Objective: To establish further the role of dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) in prognostication of outcome early after acute myocardial infarction (AMI)

Methods: Consecutive patients presenting with AMI were screened for inclusion into the study. 212 stable consenting patients underwent DSE a mean (SD) of 4.8 (1.5) days after AMI. Patients were then followed up for 803 (297) days.

Results: The mean (SD) resting systolic wall thickening index (SWTI) was 1.6 (0.4), 44% patients had evidence of viability at low dose, and 38% had evidence of ischaemia. During the follow up period 27 (13%) patients died and 16 (8%) had a non-fatal AMI. Independent predictors of both mortality and combined mortality and non-fatal AMI were age (hazard ratio (HR) 1.04/year, p  =  0.01, and HR 1.03/year, p  =  0.04, respectively) and SWTI at low dose (HR 3.6, p < 0.01, and HR 2.5, p  =  0.02, respectively). Low dose DSE provided incremental information over clinical and resting left ventricular function data for predicting death and non-fatal AMI. For patients who were not revascularised SWTI at peak dose dobutamine was the only independent predictor of mortality.

Conclusion: DSE is a powerful predictor of outcome in stable survivors of AMI. The presence of myocardial viability has a positive impact on survival.

  • AMI, acute myocardial infarction
  • CI, confidence interval
  • DSE, dobutamine stress echocardiography
  • EDIC, echo dobutamine international cooperative
  • HR, hazard ratio
  • LVEF, left ventricular ejection fraction
  • SWTI, systolic wall thickening index
  • acute myocardial infarction
  • dobutamine stress echocardiography
  • myocardial viability
  • ischaemia
  • prognosis

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Footnotes

  • Published Online First 14 April 2005

  • This study is funded by the Cardiac Research Fund.