Mitral Ratio of Peak Early to Late Diastolic Filling Velocity as a Predictor of Mortality in Middle-Aged and Elderly Adults

Abstract

Background — With aging, left ventricular filling tends to decrease in early diastole, reducing the mitral ratio of peak early to late diastolic filling velocity (E/A). However, the prognostic significance of low or high E/A in older adults remains to be elucidated in population-based samples. Methods and Results — Doppler echocardiograms were analyzed in 3008 American Indian participants in the second Strong Heart Study examination who had no more than mild mitral or aortic regurgitation. Participants were followed for a mean of 3 years after Doppler echocardiography to assess risks of all-cause and cardiac death associated with E/A 1.5; 2429 (81%) participants had normal E/A ratio, 490 (16%) had E/A 1.5. All-cause mortality was higher with E/A 1.5 (12% and 13% versus 6%), as was cardiac mortality (4.5% and 6.5% versus 1.6%; both P P =0.05); the relative risk of cardiac death was 2.8 (95% CI, 1.19 to 6.75; P P =0.19 and 0.31, respectively) after adjusting for covariates. Conclusions — In a population-based sample of middle-aged and elderly adults, mitral E/A >1.5 at baseline Doppler echocardiography is associated with 2-fold increased all-cause and 3-fold increased cardiac mortality independent of covariates; mitral E/A <0.6 was also associated with 2-fold increased all-cause and cardiac mortality but not independent of covariates.