Table 1.

Characteristics of normotensive PE patients with and without RVD

	PE without RVD (n = 58)	PE with RVD (n = 77)	p-value
Sex (women)	58.6 % (34)	60.6 % (43)	0.97
Age (years)	66.0 (57.7/75.1)	75.0 (61.3/81.0)	0.019
Comorbidities
Surgery or trauma in last 3 months before PE event	24.1 % (14)	14.1 % (10)	0.22
DVT or PE in patient’s history	24.6 % (14)	25.4 % (18)	0.92
DVT	72.4 % (42)	69.0 % (49)	0.82
Lung infarction with pneumonia	31.0 % (18)	52.1 % (37)	0.026
In-hospital death	0 % (0)	1.4 % (1)	0.92
Symptoms
Chest pain	34.5 % (20)	32.4 % (23)	0.95
Dyspnoea	84.5 % (49)	85.9 % (61)	0.98
Haemoptysis	3.4 % (2)	4.2 % (3)	0.82
Syncope or collapse	5.2 % (3)	14.1 % (10)	0.17
Tachycardia	20.7 % (12)	52.1 % (37)	0.00051
Physical examination
Systolic blood pressure (mmHg)	151.4 ± 23.5	143.6 ± 24.8	0.070
Diastolic blood pressure (mmHg)	80.9 ± 20.4	79.5 ± 15.3	0.65
Heart rate (beats/min)	80.5 (70.0/97.2)	100.0 (85.3/108.0)	< 0.0001
ECG
Incomplete or complete RBBB	3.5 % (2)	19.7 % (14)	0.013
S1Q3type	3.5 % (2)	14.1 % (10)	0.083
Laboratory
Cardiac troponin I (ng/ml)	0.01 (0/0.03)	0.06 (0.02/0.23)	< 0.0001
Creatine kinase (U/l)	62.0 (44.0/87.0)	65.0 (41.0/105.3)	0.71
Creatinine (mg/dl)	1.00 (0.80/1.11)	1.10 (0.90/1.38)	0.0062
D-dimer (mg/l)	1.23 (0.76/2.26)	2.00 (1.08/4.05)	0.016
Echocardiography
Systolic PA pressure (mmHg)	22.79 ± 14.89	43.00 ± 16.06	< 0.0001
Submassive PE stage (= existing RVD or elivated cTnI levels (>0.1 ng/ml))	10.3 % (6)	100 % (77)	< 0.0001

Continuous variables are described by median, 25th and 75th percentile, if they had a skewed distribution (|skewness| >1). Nearly normally distributed variables are presented as mean values and standard deviation. Discrete variables are described through relative and absolute frequencies. Discrete variables were tested with the Chi-square test for contingency tables; continuous variables were analysed with Student’s T Test if they were normally distributed the Mann–Whitney-U test on skewed distribution