TABLE 1.

Clinical characteristics of chronic heart failure (CHF) patients and healthy volunteers

Characteristic	CHF (n=54)	Control (n=70)
Age, years, mean ± SD	80.1±5.0	75.2±4.1
Men, %	74	63
New York Heart Association class	III or IV	Not relevant
Hypertension, %	46	0
Diabetes, %	25	0
Coronary artery diseases, %	54	0
Atrial fibrillation, %	43	0
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, %	17	0
Stroke, %	24	0
ACE inhibitors or ARB, %	74	0
Beta-blockers, %	78	0
Spironolactone, %	30	0
Statin, %	24	0

ACE Angiotensin-converting enzyme; ARB Angiotensin II receptor subtype 1 blocker