BACKGROUND: There is a lack of information about the prognostic value of high velocity in coronary arteries during echocardiography. The present study was aimed at investigating the three-year prognostic value of coronary velocity assessment in all patients who were referred for echocardiography examination. METHODS: The prospective study comprises 747 consecutive patients. Death, myocardial infarction (MI), acute coronary syndrome (ACS), and/or revascularisation were defined as major adverse cardiac events (MACE). Routine echocardiography was added with coronary velocity assessment in the left main, anterior descending, or circumflex coronary arteries by the Doppler method. RESULTS: During a median follow-up of 36 months, 192 patients experienced MACE. Deaths occurred more frequently in patients with high local velocity in proximal left-sided segments vs. in middle left-sided segments vs. patients without high coronary velocity (9 vs. 3 vs. 1%, p < 0.0001). Death/MI/ACS occurred in 17 vs. 7 vs. 1%, p < 0.0001, respectively. Age (HR 1.04, 95% CI 1.00; 1.06; p < 0.04), a velocity more than 65 cm/s in any proximal segments of the arteries (HR 4.7, 95% CI 1.9; 11.9; p < 0.002), ejection fraction (HR 0.97, 95% CI 0.94; 0.99; p < 0.007) were strong independent prognostic predictors of death/MI/ACS. The maximal velocity of coronary flow velocity had a significant additive prognostic value to ejection fraction. CONCLUSIONS: The coronary velocity parameters give long-term prognostic information that can be used to identify persons with a high risk of MACE in consecutive non-selected patients.

1st Department of Internal Medicine Faculty of Medicine Comenius University and University Hospital Bratislava Slovakia

2nd Department of Surgery Faculty of Medicine Masaryk University St Anne's University Hospital Brno Czechia

Dell'Angelo Hospital Venice Italy

Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Medicine J A Reimana Faculty Hospital Presov Slovakia

Department of General Medicine Faculty of Medicine Slovak Medical University Bratislava Slovakia

Department of Nursing Faculty of Health Sciences and Social Work Trnava University Trnava Slovakia

Department of Nutrition Faculty of Nursing and Professional Health Studies Slovak Medical University Bratislava Slovakia

Faculty of Health Sciences University of Ss Cyril and Methodius in Trnava Trnava Slovakia

Saint Petersburg Government Hospital №40 Saint Petersburg Russia

Saint Petersburg State University Hospital Saint Petersburg Russia

University of Defence Brno Czechia

Citace poskytuje Crossref.org