Table 1. Characteristics of participants by presence of premature ventricular complexes at study baseline, and follow up stroke: The Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities Study.
| Characteristics* | Baseline PVCs† | Stroke during follow up | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes (n= 899) | No (n= 13884) | Yes (n= 729) | No (n= 14054) | |
| Age (in yrs) | 56.2 (5.2) | 54.0 (5.7) | 56.3 (5.6) | 54.0 (5.7) |
| Women | 46.9 | 56.0 | 48.3 | 55.9 |
| African American | 29.6 | 25.8 | 43.3 | 25.2 |
| Education (no high school) | 29.9 | 36.3 | 26.3 | 36.4 |
| Education (high school, no college) | 40.9 | 41.0 | 35.1 | 41.3 |
| Prevalent CHD | 12.7 | 4.1 | 10.2 | 4.3 |
| Hypertension | 44.9 | 33.6 | 59.9 | 33.0 |
| Diabetes | 13.0 | 9.2 | 24.0 | 8.7 |
| Current smoking | 26.8 | 25.8 | 35.5 | 25.3 |
| Systolic blood pressure (mm of Hg) | 124.8 (19.2) | 120.8 (18.7) | 131.9 (22.6) | 120.5 (18.3) |
| Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (mg/dL) | 137.6 (38.9) | 137.6 (39.3) | 143.6 (40.2) | 137.3 (39.2) |
| High-density lipoprotein cholesterol (mg/dL) | 49.9 (16.6) | 51.8 (17.1) | 48.8 (16.2) | 51.9 (17.1) |
| Body mass index (kg/mˆ2) | 28.4 (5.3) | 27.6 (5.3) | 28.8 (5.5) | 27.6 (5.3) |
| Heart rate (beats/min) | 68.0 (11.0) | 66.6 (10.2) | 67.7 (11.3) | 66.6 (10.2) |
| Cornell voltage‡ (mV) | 1.29 (0.56) | 1.20 (0.53) | 1.44 (0.67) | 1.19 (5.2) |
| Serum potassium (Meq/L) | 4.4 (0.5) | 4.4 (0.5) | 4.4 (0.5) | 4.4 (0.5) |
| Serum magnesium (mmol/L) | 1.6 (0.2) | 1.6 (0.2) | 1.6 (0.2) | 1.6 (0.2) |
| ACEI | 4.7 | 3.0 | 6.0 | 2.9 |
| β blocker medication use | 12.5 | 10.2 | 18.7 | 9.9 |
| Calcium channel blocker use | 5.7 | 3.2 | 5.9 | 3.2 |
| Other antihypertension drugs | 8.2 | 5.4 | 9.3 | 5.4 |
| Digoxin | 3.6 | 1.2 | 3.0 | 1.2 |
| Anti-arrhythmic | 2.9 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 0.7 |
| Overall incident stroke§ | 7.3 | 4.8 | - | - |
| Thrombotic stroke§ | 4.2 | 3.4 | - | - |
| Embolic stroke§ | 2.0 | 0.8 | - | - |
| Death§ | 31.2 | 16.1 | 46.6 | 16.7 |
| Stroke§ or death§ | 34.0 | 18.8 | - | - |
| Average follow up duration (years) | 13.8 (4.4) | 15.1 (3.3) | 9.4 (4.3) | 15.3 (3.0) |
*
Characteristics expressed as percentage or means with standard deviation of participants in respective columns
†
PVC (premature ventricular complexes) coded by investigators using 2-minute (3-lead ECG strips) at baseline
‡
Cornell voltage was calculated in those with QRS <120 ms, with non-missing values, and not having prevalent CHD
§
Incident stroke and death from study enrollment (1987-89) through 31st December 2004 expressed as cumulative percentage