Introduction and objectives: Heart failure with preserved systolic function accounts for almost 40% of heart failure cases. Prognosis is similar to that in patients with a low left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). However, it is not clear whether the etiology of heart failure with preserved systolic function has an effect on prognosis.
Methods: We assessed 95 consecutive patients admitted to our hospital with heart failure and a LVEF>45%. Twenty-five (26%) had an ischemic etiology and 70 (74%), a non-ischemic etiology.
Result: The patients' mean age was 73 (6) years, 60% were female, and their mean LVEF was 61 (7)%. These characteristics were similar in the two etiological groups. After a mean follow-up period of 53 (8) months (4-69 months; median 46 months), mortality was higher in ischemic patients (17.88 vs 2.37/100 patient-years; P<.0001), as was the rate of cardiovascular admissions (24.58 vs 4.14/100 patient-years; P<.0001). The rates of mortality due to heart failure and sudden death were also higher in ischemic patients, at 7.82 vs 0.59/100 patient-years, and 7.82 vs 0.30/100 patient-years, respectively (P<.0001). The higher overall admission rate found in the ischemic group was due to higher rates of admission for heart failure (14.53 vs 0.89/100 patient-years; P<.0001) and acute coronary syndrome (8.94 vs 1.78/100 patient-years; P=.003).
Conclusions: In terms of prognosis, heart failure with preserved systolic function is not a homogeneous disease entity. Morbidity and mortality rates are higher in patients with an ischemic etiology. Moreover, different mechanisms are involved.