Objectives: To investigate the prognostic value of circulating levels of asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) in patients with acute decompensation of (New York Heart Association (NYHA) class III/IV) chronic heart failure and reduced left ventricular ejection fraction.
Design: Single-centre prospective observational study.
Setting: Tertiary referral centre.
Patients: A total of 651 consecutive and eligible hospitalised patients were studied. Patients were divided into four groups according to the quartiles of circulating levels of ADMA upon presentation.
Main outcome measures: Incidence of in-hospital (or 7-day in the case of prolonged hospitalisation), 31-day and 1-year cardiac mortality were the pre-specified study end points.
Results: Cumulative rates of in-hospital, 31-day and 1-year cardiac mortality were 10.6%, 18.7% and 36.4%, respectively. There was a gradual increased risk of in-hospital (p(for trend)=0.011), 31-day (p(for trend)=0.044) and 1-year (p(for trend)<0.001) mortality with increasing ADMA quartiles. After adjustment for possible confounders, patients at the highest ADMA quartile were at significantly higher risk for in-hospital (p=0.042), 31-day (p=0.032) and 1-year (p<0.001) mortality than those in the lowest quartile.
Conclusions: According to the present results, an elevated circulating level of ADMA is a strong independent predictor of short-term and long-term mortality in patients with acute decompensation of NYHA class III/IV chronic heart failure and reduced left ventricular ejection fraction. ADMA levels upon presentation may confer enhanced risk stratification in this setting.