Open AccessNatural course of a prolonged pr interval and the relation between pr and incidence of coronary heart disease. A 7‐year follow‐up study of 1832 apparently healthy men aged 40–59 years
Author(s) -
Erikssen J.,
Otterstad J. E.
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
clinical cardiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.263
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1932-8737
pISSN - 0160-9289
DOI - 10.1002/clc.4960070104
Subject(s) - medicine , myocardial infarction , incidence (geometry) , cardiology , angina , stenosis , heart disease , physics , optics
During a baseline cardiovascular survey PR was measured in a strictly standardized way in 1832 men aged 40–59 years, free from coronary heart disease (CHD). Of 1758 men still alive, 1585 underwent an identical follow‐up study 7 years later. A total of 1570 were in sinus rhythm. The following findings were made: (1) Baseline and follow‐up prevalence of a prolonged PR (≥0.22 s) was identical (5.3 vs. 5.4%). (2) Only 60% of restudied men with a prolonged PR also had prolonged PR at follow‐up. (3) Only 1 of 98 with a prolonged baseline PR had a more advanced AV block at follow‐up, whereas an additional 4 had conditions which might influence the AV node (1 Bechterew' disease and 3 mild aortic valve stenosis). (4) The incidence of all CHD events found during the follow‐up study (CHD deaths, myocardial infarction, angina pectoris, and pathologic exercise ECGs) was moderately but significantly lower in men with a prolonged PR than among men with a PR ≤0.21 s. Thus a prolonged PR is rarely an indicator of impending, more severe conduction disturbances; it is mostly a benign, functional finding in middle‐aged men free from overt heart disease and is not positively associated with CHD. Rather PR may be moderately and inversely associated with latent CHD.