Athanase Benetos

Background A mismatch between myocardial oxygen supply and demand is the most common cause of ischemic myocardial injury in older persons. The subendocardial viability ratio (SEVR) can usefully estimate the degree of myocardial perfusion relative to left‐ventricular workload. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the ability of SEVR to predict long‐term mortality in the older population. Additionally, we aimed to identify the SEVR cutoff value best predicting total mortality. Methods This is a multicenter, longitudinal study involving a large population of individuals older than 80 years living in nursing homes. Patients with cancer, severe dementia, and very low level of autonomy were excluded from the study. Participants were monitored for 10 years. Adverse outcomes were recorded every 3 months from inclusion to the end of the study. SEVR reflects the balance between subendocardial oxygen supply and demand, and was estimated non‐invasively by analyzing the carotid pressure waveform recorded by applanation arterial tonometry. Results A total of 828 people were enrolled (mean age: 87.7 ± 4.7 years, 78% female). 735 patients died within 10 years and 24 were lost to follow‐up. SEVR was inversely associated with mortality at univariate Cox‐regression model (risk ratio, 0.683 per unit increase in SEVR; 95% confidence interval (CI) [0.502–0.930], p = 0.015) and in a model including age, sex, body mass index, Activity of Daily Living index and Mini‐Mental State Examination score (risk ratio, 0.647; 95% CI [0.472–0.930]). The lowest tertile of SEVR was associated with higher 10‐years total mortality than the middle ( p < 0.001) and the highest ( p < 0.004) tertile. A SEVR cutoff value of 83% was identified as the best predictor of total mortality. Conclusions SEVR may be considered as a marker of “cardiovascular frailty.” An accurate non‐invasive estimation of SEVR could be a useful and independent parameter to assess survival probability in very old adults. Trial Registration NCT00901355, registered on ClinicalTrials.gov website.