Table 1.
Clinical characteristics of the study population.
| All Patients (n = 138) |
Composite Endpoint (n = 35) |
No Composite Endpoint (n = 103) | p-Value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 58 [50–62] | 60 [52–64] | 57 [50–62] | 0.169 |
| Gender | 0.307 | |||
| Male, n (%) | 110 (80%) | 30 (85%) | 80 (78%) | |
| Female, n (%) | 28 (20%) | 5 (15%) | 23 (22%) | |
| Smoking Status | 0.674 | |||
| Non-smoker, n (%) | 83 (61%) | 19 (56%) | 64 (62%) | |
| Active, n (%) | 19 (13%) | 5 (12%) | 14 (14%) | |
| Former, n (%) | 36 (26%) | 11 (32%) | 25 (24%) | |
| Hyperlipidemia, n (%) | 101 (73%) | 27 (76%) | 74 (72%) | 0.541 |
| Diabetes mellitus, n (%) | 35 (26%) | 8 (23%) | 27 (26%) | 0.693 |
| Arterial hypertension, n (%) | 31 (22%) | 4 (11%) | 27 (26%) | 0.081 |
| Obesity (BMI > 30 kg/m2), n (%) | 35 (25%) | 8 (23%) | 27 (26%) | 0.693 |
| CKD (eGFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m2), n (%) | 25 (18%) | 11 (31%) | 14 (14%) | 0.018 |
| Etiology | 0.428 | |||
| Ischemic, n (%) | 47 (34%) | 10 (29%) | 37 (36%) | |
| Non-ischemic, n (%) | 91 (66%) | 25 (71%) | 66 (64%) | |
| NYHA class | <0.001 | |||
| I, n (%) | 16 (12%) | 1 (3%) | 15 (15%) | |
| II, n (%) | 83 (60%) | 15 (43%) | 68 (66%) | |
| III, n (%) | 37 (27%) | 17 (49%) | 20 (19%) | |
| IV, n (%) | 2 (2%) | 2 (6%) | 0 (0%) | |
| ICD at baseline, n (%) | 122 (88%) | 32 (91%) | 90 (87%) | 0.275 |
| CRT at baseline, n (%) | 76 (55%) | 20 (57%) | 56 (54%) | 0.650 |
| ARB/ACEi, n (%) | 63 (46%) | 16 (46%) | 47 (46%) | 0.993 |
| MRA, n (%) | 126 (91%) | 33 (95%) | 93 (90%) | 0.469 |
| β-blockers, n (%) | 135 (98%) | 35 (100%) | 100 (97%) | 0.307 |
| ARNI, n (%) | 61 (44%) | 14 (40%) | 47 (45%) | 0.562 |
| Ivabradine, n (%) | 18 (13%) | 5 (14%) | 13 (13%) | 0.801 |
| Loop diuretic, n (%) | 119 (86%) | 34 (97%) | 85 (82%) | 0.030 |
| Digoxin, n (%) | 22 (16%) | 7 (20%) | 15 (15%) | 0.448 |
| SGLT2i, n (%) | 8 (6%) | 1 (3%) | 7 (7%) | 0.389 |
| Hemoglobin (g/dL) | 14 [13–15] | 14 [14–15] | 14 [13–15] | 0.259 |
| Serum creatinine (mg/dL) | 1.0 [1.0–1.3] | 1.2 [1.0–1.4] | 1 [0.8–1.2] | 0.001 |
| Total bilirubin (mg/dL) | 0.5 [0.4–0.8] | 0.8 [0.5–1.4] | 0.5 [0.4–0.7] | <0.001 |
| GOT (UI/L) | 20 [17–24] | 23 [18–27] | 19 [16–23] | 0.009 |
| GPT (UI/L) | 20 [15–26] | 20 [15–30] | 19 [15–26] | 0.493 |
| NT-proBNP (pg/mL) | 919 [410–2007] | 2419 [1405–6609] | 645 [288–1253] | <0.001 |
| Serum iron (μg/dL) | 81 ± 29 | 73 ± 25 | 83 ± 30 | 0.082 |
| Systolic blood pressure (mmHg) | 105 [95–115] | 95 [90–110] | 105 [100–120] | 0.004 |
| Diastolic blood pressure (mmHg) | 65 [60–75] | 60 [60–70] | 70 [60–75] | 0.041 |
Data are expressed as n (%), mean ± SD or median [IQR]. ACEi = angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor; ARB = angiotensin receptor blocker; ARNI = angiotensin receptor/neprilysin inhibitor; BMI = body mass index; CKD = chronic kidney disease; CRT = cardiac resynchronization therapy; eGFR = estimated glomerular filtration rate; GOT = glutamic–oxaloacetic transaminase; GPT = glutamic–pyruvic transaminase; ICD = implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD); NYHA = New York Heart Association; MRA = mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist; SGLT2i = sodium glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors.