Background: Little is known about the prognostic impact of heart failure (HF) duration in patients with advanced HF.
Methods: A total of 109 consecutive patients with advanced HF referred to the institutional heart transplant program between July 2014 and December 2017 were prospectively enrolled. The patients were divided into two groups according to the HF duration using a pre-specified cutoff (> 18 months, n = 38; ≤ 18 months, n = 71). The Cox proportional hazards model was generated to investigate the association between the HF duration and a 1-year composite endpoint (all-cause mortality, left ventricular assist device implantation, and hospitalization due to HF).
Results: Patients with a longer HF duration were older and had significantly lower blood pressure, and greater left ventricular volume compared with those with a shorter HF duration. The 1-year event-free survival rate was significantly lower in patients with a longer HF duration (49.1% vs. 80.0%, log-rank p < 0.001). After adjustment, a longer HF duration was independently associated with an increased risk for the composite endpoint (hazard ratio, 2.44; 95% confidence interval, 1.03-5.76; p = 0.04). Additionally, longer HF duration was independently associated with an increased wall motion score index and a decreased heart-to-mediastinum ratio of 123I-meta-iodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) myocardial scintigraphy (all associations, p < 0.05).
Conclusions: A longer HF duration is associated with an increased risk of adverse outcomes as well as more severe myocardial damage among patients with advanced HF.
Keywords: Advanced heart failure; Duration of disease; Myocardial damage; Prognosis.