Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of patients in each group
| Entire cohort (n = 180) | Propensity score‐matched cohort (n = 66) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Treatment group (n = 125) | Treatment‐naïve group (n = 55) | P value | Treatment group (n = 33) | Treatment‐naïve group (n = 33) | P value | SMD | |
| Age, years | 75.6 ± 5.3 | 78.9 ± 6.4 | <0.01 | 77.3 ± 6.8 | 77.0 ± 5.6 | 0.86 | 0.04 |
| Male, n (%) | 110 (88%) | 48 (87%) | 0.89 | 30 (91%) | 27 (82%) | 0.48 | 0.27 |
| Atrial fibrillation, n (%) | 69 (55%) | 29 (53%) | 0.76 | 17 (52%) | 15 (46%) | 0.81 | |
| Prior HF hospitalizations, n (%) | 44 (35%) | 25 (46%) | 0.19 | 12 (36%) | 15 (46%) | 0.62 | |
| NYHA class, n (%) | |||||||
| I | 16 (13%) | 7 (13%) | 5 (15%) | 5 (15%) | |||
| II | 68 (54%) | 25 (46%) | 16 (49%) | 18 (55%) | |||
| III | 41 (33%) | 22 (40%) | 12 (36%) | 9 (27%) | |||
| IV | 0 (0%) | 1 (2%) | 0 (0%) | 1 (3%) | |||
| NYHA class ≥ III, n (%) | 41 (33%) | 23 (42%) | 0.24 | 12 (36%) | 10 (30%) | 0.60 | |
| Blood testing | |||||||
| hs‐cTnT, ng/mL |
0.055 (0.037–0.082) (n = 124) |
0.069 (0.041–0.112) (n = 49) |
0.03 |
0.067 (0.043–0.102) (n = 33) |
0.052 (0.036–0.091) (n = 33) |
0.27 | 0.18 |
| hs‐cTnT > 0.05 ng/mL, n/total (%) | 68/124 (55%) | 33/49 (67%) | 0.13 | 24/33 (73%) | 18/33 (69%) | 0.13 | |
| BNP, pg/mL | 187 (112–282) | 329 (211–475) | <0.01 | 246 (208–469) | 274 (157–427) | 0.82 | 0.09 |
| BNP > 250 pg/mL, n (%) | 38 (30%) | 37 (67%) | <0.01 | 16 (49%) | 19 (58%) | 0.46 | |
| Sodium, mEq/L | 139.5 ± 2.6 | 139.6 ± 2.7 | 0.76 | 139.3 ± 2.6 | 139.7 ± 2.7 | 0.52 | |
| Creatinine, mg/dL | 1.09 ± 0.30 | 1.24 ± 0.71 | 0.049 | 1.08 ± 0.22 | 1.10 ± 0.31 | 0.70 | |
| eGFR, mL/min/1.73 m2 | 52.7 ± 14.0 | 48.6 ± 16.6 | 0.09 | 52.1 ± 11.2 | 50.9 ± 13.4 | 0.70 | 0.10 |
| eGFR < 45 mL/min/1.73 m2, n (%) | 37 (30%) | 24 (44%) | 0.07 | 9 (27%) | 11 (33%) | 0.59 | |
| Haemoglobin, g/dL | 13.9 ± 1.8 | 12.9 ± 1.7 | 0.001 | 13.7 ± 1.9 | 13.2 ± 1.7 | 0.21 | 0.31 |
| Risk score (0/1/2/3) | 43/35/30/16 (n = 124) | 6/12/19/12 (n = 49) | 7/10/9/7 (n = 33) | 6/11/11/5 (n = 33) | |||
| High‐score group (risk score ≥ 2), n/total (%) | 46/124 (37%) | 31/49 (63%) | 0.002 | 16/33 (49%) | 16/33 (63%) | 1.00 | |
| Echocardiogram parameters | |||||||
| LVDd, mm | 40.9 ± 5.6 | 43.0 ± 7.7 | 0.048 | 42.8 ± 8.4 | 41.8 ± 4.6 | 0.53 | |
| LVDs, mm | 32.0 ± 6.5 | 32.1 ± 7.3 | 0.96 | 31.6 ± 7.5 | 33.0 ± 5.9 | 0.39 | |
| IVSd, mm | 15.8 ± 2.3 | 16.1 ± 3.0 | 0.44 | 16.2 ± 2.2 | 16.3 ± 3.3 | 0.90 | |
| LVPWd, mm | 16.1 ± 2.7 | 15.9 ± 3.0 | 0.66 | 16.2 ± 1.7 | 16.2 ± 3.5 | 0.94 | |
| LVEF, % | 50.4 ± 10.2 | 50.5 ± 10.7 | 0.92 | 48.9 ± 10.2 | 51.6 ± 10.8 | 0.29 | |
| LV‐GLS (%) | −8.5 ± 2.8 | −8.9 ± 3.0 | 0.41 | −8.7 ± 2.7 | −9.4 ± 3.4 | 0.43 | |
| Apical LS (%) | −12.7 ± 4.3 | −13.6 ± 5.2 | 0.26 | −13.4 ± 4.8 | −14.2 ± 5.4 | 0.50 | |
| Middle LS (%) | −6.9 ± 3.9 | −7.2 ± 3.7 | 0.60 | −7.0 ± 4.5 | −7.3 ± 4.4 | 0.79 | |
| Basal LS (%) | −4.8 ± 2.7 | −4.5 ± 2.7 | 0.58 | −4.3 ± 2.0 | −5.0 ± 3.1 | 0.33 | |
| CMR parameters | |||||||
| ECV (%) | 57.3 ± 12.9 (n = 76) | 54.0 ± 14.8 (n = 13) | 0.42 | 61.3 ± 14.1 (n = 15) | 49.9 ± 11.2 (n = 10) | 0.04 | |
| Native T1 value (ms) | 1426 ± 54 (n = 82) | 1424 ± 50 (n = 14) | 0.87 | 1429 ± 39 (n = 16) | 1421 ± 53 (n = 11) | 0.74 | |
| Medications | |||||||
| RAS‐I, n (%) | 64 (51%) | 30 (55%) | 0.68 | 15 (46%) | 17 (52%) | 0.62 | |
| MRA, n (%) | 43 (34%) | 21 (38%) | 0.63 | 13 (39%) | 11 (33%) | 0.61 | |
| Beta‐blockers, n (%) | 27 (22%) | 17 (31%) | 0.18 | 7 (21%) | 10 (30%) | 0.40 | |
| Diuretics, n (%) | 97 (78%) | 49 (89%) | 0.07 | 27 (82%) | 29 (88%) | 0.49 | |
Note: Data are expressed as the median (interquartile range), mean ± standard deviation, or n (%).
Abbreviations: BNP, B‐type natriuretic peptide; CMR, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging; ECV, extracellular volume fraction; eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate; HF, heart failure; hs‐cTnT, high‐sensitivity cardiac troponin T; IVSd, interventricular septum diameter; LS, longitudinal strain; LVDd, left ventricular diastolic diameter; LVDs, left ventricular systolic diameter; LVEF, left ventricular ejection fraction; LV‐GLS, left ventricular global longitudinal strain; LVPWd, left ventricular posterior wall diameter; MRA, mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist; NYHA, New York Heart Association; RAS‐I, renin‐angiotensin system inhibitors; SMD, standardized mean difference.