Table 1 Patients' characteristics.
| Variable | Non‐survivors (n = 23) | Survivors (n = 69) | p Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 50 (13) | 49 (11) | 0.5519 |
| Men/women | 16/7 (70%/30%) | 50/19 (72%/28%) | 0.7892 |
| NYHA functional class | 0.0132 | ||
| I | 1 (4%) | 21 (30%) | |
| II | 8 (35%) | 26 (38%) | |
| III | 14 (61%) | 22 (32%) | |
| IV | 0 | 0 | |
| Atrial fibrillation | 4 (17%) | 10 (14%) | 0.7375 |
| Duration of CHF (years) | 3.6 (2.7) | 4.0 (2.4) | 0.4979 |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 21 (3) | 22 (3) | 0.2342 |
| Heart rate (beats/min) | 81 (13) | 73 (12) | 0.0176 |
| Mean arterial BP (mm Hg) | 81 (10) | 82 (11) | 0.7447 |
| LVEF (%) | 30 (8) | 37 (9) | 0.0020 |
| LVEDD (mm) | 61 (9) | 60 (10) | 0.4521 |
| QTc (ms) | 419 (26) | 411 (25) | 0.1780 |
| Packed cell volume | 0.38 (0.02) | 0.38 (0.02) | 0.8495 |
| Sodium (mmol/l) | 136 (3) | 137 (3) | 0.5980 |
| Creatinine (μmol/l) | 97 (35) | 88 (35) | 0.8523 |
| Uric acid (μmol/) | 488 (184) | 428 (143) | 0.1816 |
| CK‐MB (ng/ml) | 5.4 (2.2) | 4.7 (2.0) | 0.2389 |
| cTnT (ng/ml) | 0.02 (0.01) | 0.02 (0.01) | 0.1155 |
| BNP (pg/ml) | 267 (141) | 108 (81) | <0.0001 |
| H‐FABP (ng/ml) | 9.3 (3.5) | 5.1 (2.6) | <0.0001 |
| Drugs | |||
| Oral inotropics | 3 (13%) | 6 (9%) | 0.5433 |
| Digitalis | 13 (57%) | 30 (43%) | 0.2776 |
| Nitrates | 3 (13%) | 12 (17%) | 0.6250 |
| Diuretics | 22 (96%) | 68 (99%) | 0.4091 |
| ACE inhibitors | 16 (70%) | 55 (80%) | 0.3154 |
| β blockers | 18 (78%) | 52 (75%) | 0.7778 |
ACE, angiotensin converting enzyme; BNP, brain natriuretic peptide; BP, blood pressure; CHF, congestive heart failure; CK, creatine kinase; cTnT, cardiac troponin T; H‐FABP, heart‐type fatty acid binding protein; LVEDD, left ventricular end diastolic diameter; LVEF, left ventricular ejection fraction; NYHA, New York Heart Association.