Why the study?
Does discrete upper septal thickening (DUST) increase cardiovascular disease events or mortality in a community-based sample?
Does discrete upper septal thickening (DUST) increase cardiovascular disease events or mortality in a community-based sample?
Discrete upper septal thickening (DUST) on echocardiography is associated with increasing age and systolic blood pressure but is not independently associated with adverse cardiovascular events or mortality.
DUST need not alter clinical risk assessment or surveillance; leaves open its role as a benign age- and BP-related variant.
The upper interventricular septum may be prominent in elderly individuals, a finding referred to as discrete upper septal thickening (DUST). We examined the prevalence, clinical and echocardiographic correlates, and prognostic significance of DUST in a community-based sample. We evaluated Framingham Study participants who underwent routine echocardiography. In 3562 Framingham Study participants (mean age 58 years, 57% women), DUST was observed in 52 participants. The clinical correlates of DUST were increasing age (odds ratio [OR] per 10 year increment 2.59, 95% confidence intervals [CI] 1.64-4.08) and systolic blood pressure (OR per SD increment 1.55, 95% CI 1.15-2.09). DUST was positively associated with left ventricular (LV) fractional shortening and mitral annular calcification but inversely with LV diastolic dimensions (P < 0.02 for all). On follow-up (mean 15 years), 732 individuals died (33 with DUST) and 560 experienced a cardiovascular disease (CVD) event (18 with DUST). Adjusting for cardiovascular risk factors, DUST was not associated with CVD or mortality risk (P > 0.30 for both). The follow-up component of our study suggests that DUST is not independently associated with adverse prognosis.
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Díaz et al. (2009) studied this question.
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