Why the study?
Does the presence of ventricular premature beats (VPB) on resting ECG predict death in male survivors of myocardial infarction?
Does the presence of ventricular premature beats (VPB) on resting ECG predict death in male survivors of myocardial infarction?
The presence of ventricular premature beats on a resting baseline ECG is an independent predictor of long-term mortality in male survivors of myocardial infarction.
VPB on resting ECG was associated with doubled mortality in male MI survivors; supports risk stratification research but should not change practice yet.
Two hundred thirty-five men among 2,035 survivors of myocardial infarction (11.5%) had one or more ventricular premature beats (VPB) in their resting base-line electrocardiogram. During a three-year follow-up period, deaths were about twice as frequent in those with any VPB (21.7%) as in those with none (11.4%) among the placebo-treated patients in the nationwide Coronary Drug Project. Excess long-term risk of death, including sudden death, was associated with the frequency of VPB, with VPB in pairs or runs, and possibly with early-cycle VPB. The excess risk with these VPB characteristics was independent of the risk associated with other electrocardiographic and clinical characteristics.
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A 1973 study studied this question.
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