Patient characteristics according to HF classification (n = 251)
| HF | Systolic HF | Diastolic HF | No HF | p Value* | |
| (n = 137) | (n = 116) | (n = 21) | (n = 114) | ||
| Men (n (%)) | 128 (93) | 110 (95) | 18 (86) | 106 (93) | 1.000 |
| Age (years) | 76 (69–82) | 76 (68–82) | 76 (70–81) | 69 (58–78) | <0.001 |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 26 (24–29) | 26 (23–29) | 27 (25–31) | 26 (23–30) | 0.628 |
| Arterial hypertension (n (%)) | 86 (63) | 68 (59) | 18 (86) | 55 (48) | 0.022 |
| Systolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | 135 (113–160) | 130 (110–160) | 150 (140–170) | 140 (120–161) | 0.073 |
| Diastolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | 80 (70–90) | 80 (70–90) | 90 (78–100) | 80 (70–91) | 0.178 |
| Heart rate (beats/min) | 86 (75–110) | 89 (75–110) | 85 (68–102) | 90 (75–115) | 0.756 |
| Diabetes mellitus (n (%)) | 39 (29) | 36 (31) | 3 (14) | 19 (17) | 0.035 |
| AF (n (%) | 65 (47) | 59 (51) | 6 (29) | 18 (16) | <0.001 |
| Known CAD (n (%)) | 81 (59) | 70 (60) | 11 (52) | 36 (32) | <0.001 |
| History of HF (n (%)) | 65 (47) | 62 (53) | 3 (14) | 10 (9) | <0.001 |
| Symptoms of HF | |||||
| Dyspnoea on exertion (n (%)) | 137 (100) | 116 (100) | 21 (100) | 114 (100) | NA |
| Orthopnea (n (%)) | 28 (20) | 28 (24) | 0 (0) | 11 (10) | 0.023 |
| PND (n (%)) | 53 (39) | 43 (37) | 10 (48) | 22 (19) | 0.001 |
| Nocturnal cough (n (%)) | 50 (37) | 44 (38) | 6 (29) | 22 (19) | 0.003 |
| Signs of HF | |||||
| JVD (n (%)) | 38 (28) | 37 (32) | 1 (5) | 4 (4) | <0.001 |
| Pulmonary rales (n (%)) | 44 (32) | 41 (35) | 3 (14) | 8 (7) | <0.001 |
| Third heart sound (n (%)) | 22 (16) | 15 (13) | 7 (33) | 2 (2) | <0.001 |
| Peripheral oedema (n (%)) | 40 (29) | 37 (32) | 3 (14) | 13 (11) | 0.001 |
| Framingham score | |||||
| Classification positive (n (%)) | 137 (100) | 116 (100) | 21 (100) | 7 (6) | NA |
| Major criteria (points) | 2 (1–3) | 2 (1–3) | 1 (1–2) | 0 (0–1) | NA |
| Minor criteria (points) | 2 (1–3) | 2 (2–3) | 2 (1–2) | 1 (1–2) | NA |
| NYHA classification | |||||
| I (n (%)) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 10 (9) | NA |
| II (n (%)) | 59 (43) | 42 (36) | 17 (81) | 0 (0) | NA |
| III (n (%)) | 53 (38) | 50 (43) | 3 (14) | 0 (0) | NA |
| IV (n (%)) | 25 (18) | 24 (21) | 1 (5) | 0 (0) | NA |
| Echocardiographic data | |||||
| LV ejection fraction (%) | 40 (28–48) | 36 (25–45) | 55 (54–57) | 59 (55–62) | <0.001 |
| Normal function (n (%)) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 43 (38) | NA |
| Diastolic dysfunction (n (%)) | 21 (15) | 0 (0) | 21 (100) | 53 (46) | NA |
| Systolic dysfunction (n (%)) | 116 (85) | 116 (100) | 0 (0) | 18 (16) | NA |
| Drug therapy | |||||
| ACE inhibitors (n (%)) | 98 (72) | 87 (75) | 10 (48) | 23 (20) | <0.001 |
| AR-blockers (n (%)) | 9 (7) | 7 (6) | 2 (10) | 8 (7) | 1.000 |
| Calcium antagonists (n (%)) | 22 (16) | 13 (11) | 9 (43) | 15 (13) | 0.593 |
| β-blockers (n (%)) | 66 (48) | 59 (51) | 7 (33) | 20 (18) | <0.001 |
| Digitalis (n (%)) | 39 (29) | 36 (31) | 3 (14) | 7 (6) | <0.001 |
| Diuretics (n (%)) | 111 (81) | 97 (94) | 14 (67) | 42 (37) | <0.001 |
| Amiodarone (n (%)) | 15 (11) | 13 (12) | 2 (10) | 5 (4) | 0.064 |
| Biochemical markers | |||||
| Haemoglobin (g/dl) | 13.6 (12.3–15.0) | 13.7 (12.3–15.0) | 13.2 (11.5–15.2) | 14.1 (13.1–15.1) | 0.108 |
| Creatinine (mg/dl) | 0.9 (0.7–1.3) | 1.0 (0.7–1.4) | 0.7 (0.6–1.1) | 0.8 (0.7–1.0) | 0.006 |
| eGFR (ml/min) | 69 (49–101) | 66 (48–97) | 94 (62–135) | 95 (66–142) | <0.001 |
| BUN (mg/dl) | 24 (16–32) | 24 (17–34) | 18 (12–25) | 11 (17–23.0) | <0.001 |
| BNP (ng/l) | 792 (363–1714) | 913 (478–1850) | 230 (128–475) | 65 (10–196) | <0.001 |
| MR-proANP (pmol/l | 338 (234–521) | 372 (259–623) | 212 (104–322) | 98 (54–166) | <0.001 |
| MR-proADM (nmol/l) | 0.95 (0.68–1.51) | 1.02 (0.68–1.58) | 0.75 (0.52–1.09) | 0.60 (0.38–0.80) | <0.001 |
| Adiponectin (mg/l) | 17.2 (12.5–29.6) | 17.8 (12.4–31.0) | 16.4 (12.2–22.0) | 11.7 (7.8–16.3) | <0.001 |
| CT-proET-1 (pmol/l) | 79 (49–1291) | 83 (51–131) | 56 (40–95) | 46 (26–66) | <0.001 |
| Proguanylin (ng/ml) | 11.3 (8.3–18.7) | 11.7 (8.5–18.7) | 9.8 (6.8–18.1) | 7.9 (5.8–12.4) | <0.001 |
| sST2 (ng/l) | 465 (255–873) | 494 (278–903) | 270 (159–651) | 203 (128–500) | <0.001 |
| Prouroguanylin (ng/ml) | 9.7 (6.5–14.3) | 10.3 (6.4–14.8) | 7.9 (6.5–10.8) | 7.4 (5.2–11.2) | 0.001 |
| Copeptin (pmol/l) | 24.7 (9.6–58) | 30.8 (10.7–68.0) | 10.6 (4.4–24.8) | 12.8 (5.3–43.0) | 0.002 |
| Chromogranin A (nmol/l) | 6.6 (4.2–11.6) | 6.7 (4.1–11.6) | 6.2 (4.7–12.2) | 5.1 (4.0–9.7) | 0.083 |
Data are presented as median (25th–75th percentiles) or number (%).
*Comparisons between patients with HF (n = 137) and patients without HF (n = 114) were performed with the Fisher’s exact test for the categorical variables and with the non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test for the continuous variables (respective p values were not adjusted for multiple comparisons, and are therefore only descriptive).
ACE, angiotensin-converting enzyme; AF, atrial fibrillation (first episode, paroxysmal, persistent, or permanent); AR, angiotensin receptor; BMI, body mass index; BNP, B-type natriuretic peptide; BUN, blood urea nitrogen; CAD, coronary artery disease; CT-proET-1, C-terminal endothelin-1 precursor fragment; eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate; HF, heart failure; JVD, jugular venous distension; LV, left ventricular; MR-proADM, midregional proadrenomedullin; MR-proANP, midregional pro-A-type natriuretic peptide; NA, not applicable; NYHA, New York Heart Association; PND, paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnoea; sST2, soluble isoform of a interleukin-1 receptor family member ST2.