Left ventricular ejection fraction is associated with prevalent and incident cardiovascular disease in patients with intermittent claudication – results from the CAVASIC Study

Abstract Background Individuals with an impaired ventricular function have a poor prognosis due to underlying heart failure and higher mortality rates. Patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) represent a high-risk population for left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD). Methods The left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was measured in a subset of the CAVASIC Study, consisting of 180 male patients with intermittent claudication and 226 controls. The patients were prospectively followed for a median time of 7 years. The association of LVEF with PAD and prevalent cardiovascular disease (CVD) as well as with incident CVD and survival rates during follow-up was analyzed. Results The prevalence of LVSD (LVEF Conclusions Patients with PAD have significantly lower LVEF values compared to controls. The LVEF can serve as a risk predictor for subsequent cardiovascular disease among this high-risk population.