TABLE 1.
Demographic and clinical characteristics of the study population according to the BWTT quartiles.
| Backward wave transit time | P-value | ||||
|
|
|||||
| Q1 (n = 87) | Q2 (n = 88) | Q3 (n = 88) | Q4 (n = 88) | ||
| Demographics | |||||
|
| |||||
| Age (years) | 84 ± 6 | 85 ± 6 | 83 ± 6 | 82 ± 6 | 0.071 |
| Height (cm) | 164 ± 8 | 162 ± 8 | 166 ± 10 | 166 ± 10 | 0.009 |
| Weight (Kg) | 69 ± 14 | 71 ± 15 | 70 ± 15 | 75 ± 15 | 0.089 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 25.8 ± 5.4 | 26.8 ± 5.0 | 25.4 ± 4.6 | 27.0 ± 4.9 | 0.084 |
| BSA (m2) | 1.76 ± 0.19 | 1.78 ± 0.21 | 1.8 ± 0.23 | 1.85 ± 0.21 | 0.058 |
| Gender (males, n, %) | 29 (33) | 29 (33) | 43 (50) | 50 (57) | 0.002 |
|
| |||||
| Pre-intervention risk scores | |||||
|
| |||||
| Euroscore (%, n = 343) | 13.6 [8.9–22.1] | 15.2 [10.1–23.3] | 13.5 [9.4–20.9] | 13 [8.9–18.3] | 0.336 |
| STS Score (%, n = 343) | 5.4 [3.4–8.2] | 5.3 [3.7–8.3] | 4.9 [3.1–7.3] | 4.1 [2.8–5.8] | 0.013 |
|
| |||||
| Comorbidities and risk factors | |||||
|
| |||||
| Diabetes (%) | 27 (31) | 30 (34) | 22 (25) | 24 (27) | 0.560 |
| Dyslipidaemia (%) | 62 (71) | 66 (75) | 56 (64) | 58 (66) | 0.353 |
| Arterial hypertension (%) | 69 (79) | 73 (83) | 70 (80) | 72 (82) | 0.911 |
| Smokers (%) | 8 (9) | 3 (3) | 7 (8) | 8 (9) | 0.095 |
| CAD (%) | 49 (56) | 45 (51) | 51 (58) | 44 (50) | 0.660 |
| Previous MI (%) | 10 (12) | 13 (15) | 9 (10) | 12 (14) | 0.798 |
| PAD (%) | 12 (14) | 13 (15) | 15 (17) | 7 (8) | 0.332 |
| COPD (%) | 17 (20) | 13 (15) | 14 (16) | 15 (17) | 0.854 |
| Renal failure (%) | 40 (51) | 47 (53) | 43 (49) | 46 (52) | 0.937 |
| Cancer (%) | 15 (17) | 21 (24) | 17 (19) | 24 (27) | 0.373 |
| Atrial fibrillation/flutter (%) | 33 (38) | 26 (30) | 27 (31) | 29 (33) | 0.650 |
|
| |||||
| Presence of symptoms | |||||
|
| |||||
| NYHA III or IV (%) | 65 (75) | 66 (75) | 61 (69) | 64 (73) | 0.822 |
| Syncope (%, n = 342) | 5 (6) | 11 (13) | 11 (13) | 13 (16) | 0.249 |
| Angina (%) | 22 (25) | 14 (16) | 22 (25) | 10 (12) | 0.080 |
|
| |||||
| Baseline medications | |||||
|
| |||||
| Aspirin (%) | 52 (60) | 53 (60) | 47 (53) | 42 (48) | 0.291 |
| Oral anticoagulation (%) | 27 (31) | 26 (30) | 25 (28) | 25 (28) | 0.978 |
| Beta-blockers (%) | 35 (40) | 38 (43) | 33 (38) | 34 (39) | 0.880 |
| ACE inhibitors (%) | 23 (26) | 15 (17) | 20 (23) | 21 (24) | 0.499 |
| ARBs (%) | 35 (40) | 38 (43) | 33 (38) | 34 (39) | 0.880 |
| Statin (%) | 52 (60) | 50 (57) | 44 (50) | 49 (56) | 0.619 |
Continuous variables expressed as mean ± standard deviation or median and interquartile range. Categorical variables are expressed in absolute counts and (percentages). P-values obtained by ANOVA or Chi-Square test.
BMI, body mass index; BSA, body surface area; STS, Society of Thoracic Surgeons; CAD, coronary artery disease; PAD, peripheral artery disease; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; NYHA, New York Heart Association; ACE, angiotensin-converting enzyme; ARBs, angiotensin receptor blockers.