[Prognostic importance of cardiomegaly in patients with acute myocardial infarction].

Objectives: To assess the in-hospital and long-term prognostic importance of cardiomegaly demonstrated by a simple admission radiograph in patients hospitalized for acute myocardial infarction.

Material And Methods: Prospective study of 7644 patients admitted for acute myocardial infarction; 2 hospitals participated. We recorded detailed clinical data, especially noting the presence or absence of cardiomegaly in the chest radiograph. Adjusted predictive models for all-cause mortality in hospital or after discharge were constructed. The median followup was 6 years.

Results: Cardiomegaly was detected in 1351 (17.7%) of the patients. Hospital mortality was 11.2% overall; the incidence of long-term mortality was 5.7 per 100 patient-years. Patients with cardiomegaly were older and had more cardiovascular risk factors other than current smoking; they also had more concomitant conditions, had undergone fewer revascularization procedures, and received suboptimal care after discharge. Cardiomegaly was associated with higher in-hospital rates of adverse events, especially heart failure (70.8% in patients with cardiomegaly vs 21.4% in others, P<.001) and death (27.8% vs 7.7%, P<.001). Cardiomegaly was also an independent predictor of hospital mortality (odds ratio, 1.34; P=.02) as well as mortality after discharge (hazard ratio, 1.16; P<.01).

Conclusion: Cardiomegaly was an independent predictor of both hospital mortality and long-term mortality after discharge in this series.