1- and 7-year risk of cardiac events in relation to Holter monitoring in patients admitted with chest pain in whom AMI is not confirmed

Abstract The prognostic value of ventricular premature beats (VPBs) was evaluated in 198 patients with chest pain (non-AMI patients) in whom the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction was ruled out after admission to hospital. VPBs were registered at the time of discharge during a 24-hour Holter monitoring. The amount of cardiac events (CEs) were analyzed after 1 and 7 years follow-up. After 1 year, CEs were seen in 9% of the non-acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients. After 7 years, 51 CEs (20 nonfatal AMIs and 31 cardiac deaths) had occurred (25%). After 1 year, only pairs of VPBs were associated with an increased risk of CEs. CEs were seen in 25% of the patients with pairs of VPBs and in 6% of the patients without pairs (P