Association of QTc Interval with Risk of Cardiovascular Diseases and Related Vascular Traits: A Prospective and Longitudinal Analysis

Glob Heart. 2020 Feb 10;15(1):13. doi: 10.5334/gh.533.

Abstract

Background: Prolonged heart rate corrected QT (QTc) interval was reported to be associated with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs).

Objective: There exists little data on the association between QTc interval and cardiovascular risk in Asian populations. We prospectively investigated the association of QTc interval with CVDs and vascular traits in a large cohort of Chinese adults.

Methods: A total of 7,605 participants aged 40 years or older from a well-defined community without CVDs at baseline were included and followed up for an average of 4.5 years. Association of baseline QTc interval with incident CVDs was evaluated using Cox regression analysis. Associations of QTc interval with brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), and risk of microalbuminuria and peripheral arterial diseases (PAD) were secondarily examined.

Results: Prolonged QTc interval (≥460 ms in women and ≥450 ms in men) was associated with 51% higher risk of total major CVDs (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.51, 95% confidence interval [CI] [1.20, 1.90]), particularly, 48% increased risk of stroke (95% CI [1.16, 1.88]). Prolonged QTc interval was positively associated with baPWV (β = 38.10 cm/s, standard error [SE] = 8.04, P < 0.0001) and CIMT (β = 0.01 mm, SE = 0.01, P = 0.04). Prolonged QTc interval was associated with increased risk of incident microalbuminuria (odds ratio [OR] = 1.65, 95% CI [1.21, 2.24]) and PAD (2.49, 95% CI [1.35, 4.59]).

Conclusions: Prolonged QTc interval is positively and significantly associated with increased risk of CVDs and related vascular traits in Chinese population.

Keywords: QTc interval; cardiovascular diseases; vascular traits.

Publication types

  • Multicenter Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Cardiovascular Diseases / diagnosis
  • Cardiovascular Diseases / epidemiology
  • Cardiovascular Diseases / physiopathology*
  • Carotid Intima-Media Thickness
  • China / epidemiology
  • Electrocardiography*
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Heart Rate / physiology*
  • Humans
  • Incidence
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Prospective Studies
  • Pulse Wave Analysis / methods
  • Risk Assessment / methods*
  • Risk Factors

Grants and funding

This study was funded by National Key R&D Program of China (2018YFC1311705, 2018YFC1311800, 2016YFC1305600, and 2016YFC1304904), National Natural Science Foundation of China (81561128019, 81770842, and 81970706), Shanghai Pujiang Program (18PJ1409600), Shanghai Municipal Education Commission–Gaofeng Clinical Medicine Grant Support from Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine (20171901), and the Shanghai Science and Technology Commission (YDZX20173100004881).