Serum neopterin concentration was measured in 198 patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) and 62 control subjects by ELISA. Patients were prospectively followed during a median follow-up period of 745 days with end points of cardiac death or re-hospitalization due to progressive heart failure. Serum concentration of neopterin increased with advancing New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class (P<0.001). High neopterin group had a significantly higher incidence of cardiac events than low neopterin group (P<0.0001). In the multivariate Cox analysis, serum neopterin concentration was an independent risk factor for cardiac events (hazard ratio 1.70, 95%CI 1.16-2.50, P=0.0068). Serum neopterin concentration is a novel prognostic marker for CHF.
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