Prevalence and Long-Term Prognosis of Patients with Complete Bundle Branch Block (Right or Left Bundle Branch) with Normal Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction Referred for Stress Echocardiography

Background The prognostic value of stress echocardiography (SE) in patients with complete bundle branch blocks (BBB) with normal left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) has not been well described. We sought to determine the prognostic value of SE in patients with BBB and normal LVEF. Methods We analyzed 7214 patients (58 ± 14 years; 57% female) with a mean follow‐up time of 9 ± 4 years. Dobutamine SE was performed in 51% of patients and exercise SE was performed in 49%. All‐cause mortality data were obtained from the Social Security Death Index. Results There were 222 (3%) patients with right bundle branch block (RBBB) and 50 (0.7%) patients with left bundle branch block (LBBB). Patients with LBBB were 3 times more likely to have an abnormal stress test after adjusting for age, gender, mode of stress test, and coronary artery disease risk factors (OR = 3.3; 95% CI: 1.86–5.92; P