Are ECG changes in heart-healthy individuals of various ages related to cardiac disease 20 years later?

Abstract

Background: This research study aimed at assessing the electrocardiographic (ECG) changes caused by ageing in a cohort of healthy subjects with normal echocardiographic examinations.
 Methods: A total of 219 healthy individuals (119 males and 100 females) were evaluated for possible arrhythmias with a standard 12-lead resting ECG and 24-h Holter ECG. As the recordings were performed between 1998 and 2000, a 20-year follow-up study was carried out by assessing the local medical records to investigate whether the subjects had experienced any cardiovascular health complications or disease since the baseline assessment.
 Results: Eighty-three subjects (45 males and 38 females) presented with pathological ECG findings at baseline. The most common finding on analysis of Holter ECG recordings was premature atrial contractions, and the most severe pathological finding was episodes of ventricular tachycardia (eight subjects). Regarding the analysis of the standard 12-lead ECG, the most common finding was left ventricular hypertrophy, and the most severe pathological findings were ST-T changes and prolongation of the QT interval. Despite other cardiac examinations performed on these patients showing normal results, in combination with a strict inclusion criterion, this study showed that 28% of all subjects had pathological resting 12-lead ECGs at rest and 35% had pathological heart rhythms when assessed by 24-h Holter ECG. At follow-up, 21% of females and 43% of males had presented with ECG abnormalities, and 30% of females and 36% of males had cardiovascular disease. There was hypertension in 45% of females and in 58% of males. However, no association was found between the follow-up findings and ECG changes seen at baseline.
 Conclusion: Although most ECG changes found at baseline could be considered as a normal variation, they may progress to more severe heart complications as the subject ages. The results of this study also validate ECG findings of previous studies and underline that diagnostic criteria should be based on gender and age.

Pulmonary function in a cohort of heart-healthy individuals from Northern Sweden—a comparison with discordant reference values

“…The study group that was used for evaluation of different lung function models were originally included in a population-based study of cardiac function performed in Umeå, Northern Sweden during the years 1998-2000 [11,12]. 1000 subjects (50% females) were randomized from the Swedish Tax Agency's register, with year of birth ranging from 1910 to 1977.…”

“…All were investigated with: a) echocardiography, where all presented with normal findings [12]; b) electrocardiography (ECG), where 83 had minor pathological findings [11]; and c) dynamic spirometry. Testing and analyses was performed by experienced medical technicians and physicians.…”

“…This study focused on the spirometry testing in a cohort of 285 subjects with normal heart function from the general population of Northern Sweden. Cardiac data from this cohort in the form of echocardiographic and electrocardiographic (ECG) examinations have been published previously [11,12], however this article is the first to present information gathered from the dynamic spirometry testing on this cohort. The present study aimed to evaluate the observed lung function in this cohort based on: a) the present GLI reference values, and b) the reference values suggested in the Obstructive Lung Disease In Norrbotten (OLIN) study [13] which is based on subjects from Northern Sweden.…”

Pulmonary function in a cohort of heart-healthy individuals from Northern Sweden - A comparison of reference values

“…All were investigated with: a) echocardiography, where all presented with normal findings [13]; b) electrocardiography (ECG), where 83 had minor pathological findings [12]; and c) spirometry (previously unpublished results). Testing and analyses were performed by experienced medical technicians and physicians.…”

“…This study focused on the spirometry testing in a cohort of 285 randomly selected 20-90 years old subjects from the general population of Northern Sweden, where all had presented with normal heart function. Data from echocardiographic end electrocardiographic examinations have been presented before [12,13] but not the dynamic spirometry. The present study aimed to evaluate normal lung function in this cohort based on: a) the present GLI reference values, and b) the reference values suggested in the Obstructive Lung Disease In Norrbotten (OLIN) study [14], which is based on subjects from Northern Sweden.…”