Table 1.
Characteristics of Interval Patient TTEs. (N = number of observations). Guideline recommendations used were 3–5 years for mild and trace MR, 1–2 years for moderate MR, and 6–12 months for severe MR.2
| Variables | All Studies (N=37,843) |
Trace MRa (N=23,150) |
Mild MR (N=10,348) |
Moderate MR (N=3,678) |
Severe MR (N=667) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male (N, %) | 18784 (49.6) | 11799 (51.0) | 4941 (47.8) | 1619 (44.0) | 425 (63.7) | |
| Age Category | ||||||
| < 45 Yrs (N, %) | 6200 (16.4) | 5055 (21.8) | 776 (7.5) | 326 (8.9) | 43 (6.5) | |
| 45 to 54 Yrs (N, %) | 5403 (14.3) | 4052 (17.5) | 1000 (9.7) | 264 (7.2) | 87 (13.0) | |
| 55 to 64 Yrs (N, %) | 7543 (19.9) | 4971 (21.5) | 1826 (17.7) | 605 (16.5) | 141 (21.1) | |
| 65 to 74 Yrs (N, %) | 8795 (23.3) | 5025 (21.7) | 2731 (26.4) | 886 (24.1) | 153 (22.9) | |
| 75 to 84 Yrs (N, %) | 7160 (18.9) | 3151 (13.5) | 2803 (27.1) | 1045 (28.4) | 197 (29.5) | |
| > 84 Yrs (N, %) | 2742 (7.3) | 932 (4.0) | 1212 (11.7) | 552 (15.9) | 46 (6.9) | |
| Race | ||||||
| Black (N, %) | 1409 (3.7) | 929 (4.0) | 325 (3.1) | 128 (3.5) | 27 (4.1) | |
| Hispanic (N, %) | 1515 (4.0) | 1098 (4.7) | 302 (2.9) | 103 (2.8) | 12 (1.8) | |
| White (N, %) | 32724 (86.5) | 19711 (85.1) | 9168 (88.6) | 3263 (88.7) | 582 (87.3) | |
| Asian (N, %) | 1209 (3.2) | 772 (3.3) | 300 (2.9) | 121 (3.3) | 16 (2.4) | |
| Others | 986 (2.6) | 640 (2.8) | 253 (2.4) | 63 (1.7) | 30 (4.5) | |
| Patients with multiple valve diseases (N, %) | 4890 (12.9) | 2577 (11.1) | 1781 (17.2) | 489 (13.3) | 43 (6.5) | |
| Median distance from echo center (IQR) | 12.1(23) | 12.3 (24.3) | 10.5 (20.4) | 10.5 (20.0) | 12.1 (20.6) | |
| Mean estimated income (in $1000) (SD) | 80.1 (29.7) | 79.7 (29.0) | 80.3 (30.8) | 80.8 (30.7) | 83.6 (27.6) | |
| Mean change in LVESDb (SD) | −0.06 (3.5) | −0.12 (3.4) | 0.005 (3.6) | 0.16(3.9) | 0.15 (3.4) | |
| Mean LAc Size (SD) | 37.9 (7.4) | 36.4 (6.6) | 39.5 (7.8) | 42.2 (7.5) | 44.5 (7.4) | |
| RVSPd (SD) | 30.2 (19.1) | 27.0 (18.8) | 34.5 (18.1) | 37.4 (18.6) | 37.2 (21.4) | |
| Provider Specialty | ||||||
| Cardiology (N, %) | 25218 (66.6) | 14437 (62.4) | 7237 (69.9) | 2947 (80.1) | 597 (89.5) | |
| PCPe (N, %) | 4512 (11.9) | 2571 (11.1) | 1462 (14.1) | 441 (12.0) | 38 (5.7) | |
| Other Specialties (N, %) | 8113 (21.4) | 6142 (26.5) | 1649 (15.9) | 290 (7.9) | 32 (4.8) | |
| Mean years of TTEf ordering experience (SD) | 11.65(3.7) | 11.3 (3.7) | 11.6 (3.6) | 11.8 (3.6) | 12.0 (3.7) | |
| Mean interval length (months) (SD) | 17.5 (15.5) | 17.4 (15.9) | 18.3 (15.5) | 17.1 (13.6) | 12.4 (10.5) | |
| Intervals longer than guideline recommendations | 703 (3.0) | 303 (2.9) | 854 (23.2) | 290 (43.5) | ||
| Intervals shorter than guideline recommendations | 20062 (86.7) | 8925 (86.2) | 1508 (41.0) | 152 (22.8) | ||
a
Mitral Regurgitation (MR),
b
Left Ventricular End Systolic Dimension (LVESD),
c
Left Atrial (LA),
d
Right-Ventricular Systolic Pressure (RVSP),
e
Primary Care Physician (PCP),
f
Trans-Thoracic Echocardiogram (TTE)