Baseline characteristics of the study population
| Variables | CA125 (U/ml) | Omnibus p value | p Value for trend | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 (4.6–25.1) (n = 133) | Q2 (25.3–60.3) (n = 132) | Q3 (61.2–141.5) (n = 132) | Q4 (141.7–1169.5) (n = 132) | |||
| ADHF, acute decompensated heart failure; AHF, acute heart failure; CA125, carbohydrate antigen 125; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; LAD, left atrial diameter; LVDD, left ventricular diastolic diameter; LVEF, left ventricular ejection fraction; NYHA, New York Heart Association; PAD, peripheral artery disease; po2, arterial oxygen partial pressure; pco2, arterial carbon dioxide partial pressure. | ||||||
| Values are presented as mean (SD), unless otherwise specified; categorical variables are presented as percentages. | ||||||
| *NYHA functional class measured under clinicaly stable conditions, before the index admission. | ||||||
| †Variable presented as the median (interquartile range). | ||||||
| Demographic and medical history | ||||||
| Age, years | 73 (10) | 75 (10) | 73 (10) | 72 (11) | 0.123 | 0.250 |
| Women, % | 63 (47.4) | 52 (39.4) | 66 (50.0) | 68 (51.5) | 0.201 | 0.239 |
| Hypertension, % | 104 (78.2) | 106 (80.3) | 97 (73.5) | 83 (62.9) | 0.006 | 0.002 |
| Dyslipidaemia, % | 46 (34.6) | 51 (38.6) | 38 (28.8) | 29 (22.0) | 0.021 | 0.008 |
| Current smoker, % | 16 (12.1) | 11 (8.3) | 13 (9.9) | 13 (9.9) | 0.784 | 0.651 |
| Diabetes mellitus, % | 42 (31.6) | 58 (43.9) | 49 (37.1) | 55 (41.7) | 0.172 | 0.214 |
| Ischaemic heart disease, % | 45 (33.8) | 57 (43.2) | 51 (38.6) | 49 (37.1) | 0.469 | 0.775 |
| Valvular heart disease, % | 38 (28.6) | 26 (19.7) | 41 (31.1) | 35 (26.5) | 0.184 | 0.765 |
| Previous hospitalisation for AHF, % | 63 (47.4) | 52 (39.7) | 55 (41.7) | 57 (43.2) | 0.633 | 0.579 |
| ADHF, % | 76 (57.1) | 85 (64.3) | 97 (73.4) | 105 (79) | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| Cardiogenic shock, % | 3 (2.3) | 5 (3.8) | 7 (5.3) | 10 (7.5) | 0.291 | 0.049 |
| Acute pulmonary oedema, % | 35 (26.3) | 29 (22) | 18 (13.6) | 9 (6.8) | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| Hypertensive AHF, % | 18 (13.5) | 12 (9.1) | 9 (6.8) | 8 (6.1) | 0.135 | 0.026 |
| NYHA class III/IV, %* | 18 (13.5) | 24 (18.3) | 30 (22.7) | 46 (34.9) | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| COPD, % | 29 (21.8) | 22 (16.7) | 18 (13.6) | 27 (20.5) | 0.299 | 0.634 |
| Stroke, % | 10 (7.5) | 10 (7.6) | 19 (14.4) | 15 (11.4) | 0.190 | 0.120 |
| PAD, % | 13 (9.8) | 11 (8.3) | 10 (7.6) | 9 (6.8) | 0.838 | 0.365 |
| Radiological pleural effusion, % | 19 (14.3) | 45 (34.4) | 67 (50.8) | 92 (69.7) | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| Peripheral oedema, % | 51 (38.4) | 62 (47.3) | 84 (63.6) | 90 (68.2) | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| Previous use of diuretics, % | 84 (65.1) | 85 (65.9) | 88 (66.7) | 95 (72.0) | 0.631 | 0.244 |
| Vital signs | ||||||
| Heart rate, bpm† | 106 (29) | 100 (29) | 103 (28) | 98 (28) | 0.163 | 0.104 |
| Systolic blood pressure, mm Hg† | 159 (38) | 156 (34) | 149 (35) | 144 (32) | 0.002 | <0.001 |
| Diastolic blood pressure, mm Hg† | 86 (21) | 88 (20) | 81 (18) | 81 (18) | 0.003 | 0.004 |
| ECG | ||||||
| Atrial fibrillation, % | 43 (32.3) | 50 (37.9) | 62 (47.3) | 66 (50.0) | 0.012 | 0.001 |
| QRS>120 ms, % | 34 (28.6) | 36 (32.1) | 24 (21.1) | 29 (25.4) | 0.278 | 0.271 |
| Laboratory | ||||||
| Haemoglobin, g/dl | 13.2 (1.8) | 12.6 (1.9) | 12.3 (1.7) | 13.1 (1.8) | <0.001 | 0.487 |
| Serum creatinine, mg/dl† | 1.2 (0.4) | 1.2 (0.5) | 1.2 (0.5) | 1.3 (0.6) | 0.117 | 0.123 |
| Uric acid, mg/dl | 7.5 (2.2) | 7.6 (2.5) | 8.1 (2.4) | 8.8 (2.9) | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| Sodium, meq/l | 140 (4) | 139 (5) | 139 (4) | 139 (5) | 0.467 | 0.202 |
| Troponin I >0.2 ng/ml, % | 42 (32.8) | 39 (31.0) | 35 (28.0) | 35 (27.8) | 0.784 | 0.321 |
| pH† | 7.38 (0.14) | 7.40 (0.12) | 7.42 (0.10) | 7.43 (0.06) | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| po2, mm Hg† | 57 (20) | 59 (14) | 59 (20) | 60 (14) | 0.352 | 0.103 |
| pco2, mm Hg† | 43 (13) | 39 (14) | 38 (12) | 38 (10) | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| Echocardiography | ||||||
| LVEF⩽45% | 45 (33.8) | 49 (37.1) | 49 (37.1) | 67 (50.8) | 0.025 | 0.008 |
| LAD, mm | 42 (8) | 43 (8) | 46 (9) | 47 (7) | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| LVDD, mm | 57 (10) | 56 (11) | 55 (9) | 56 (10) | 0.717 | 0.927 |