Table 1.
Patient characteristics at the time of left ventricular assist device implantation
| Whole cohort (n = 19) | Good responders (n = 7) | Poor responders (n = 6) | P-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gender, n (%) | ||||
| Female | 4 (21) | 2 (29) | 1 (17) | 0.612 |
| Male | 15 (79) | 5 (71) | 5 (83) | |
| Age in years, median (IQR) | 52 (30–61) | 40 (14–62) | 55 (36–60) | 0.731 |
| Aetiology, n (%) | ||||
| Ischaemic | 10 (53) | 2 (29) | 3 (50) | 0.429 |
| Non-ischaemic | 9 (47) | 5 (71) | 3 (50) | |
| Body mass index (kg/m2), median (IQR) | 23.4 (22.5–26.6) | 22.1 (20.9–25.4) | 23.3 (22.8–27.8) | 0.181 |
| Current or previous smoker, n (%) | 7 (37) | 1 (14) | 4 (67) | 0.053 |
| Diabetes mellitus, n (%) | 1 (5) | 1 (14) | 0 (0) | 0.335 |
| Chronic renal failure, n (%) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | – |
| Medications, n (%) | ||||
| Intravenous inotrope | 10 (53) | 4 (57) | 3 (50) | 0.797 |
| ACE inhibitor | 12 (63) | 5 (71) | 4 (67) | 0.853 |
| ARB | 1 (5) | 0 (0) | 1 (17) | 0.261 |
| Beta-blocker | 11 (58) | 6 (86) | 3 (50) | 0.164 |
| MRA | 6 (32) | 0 (0) | 4 (67) | 0.009 |
| Digoxin | 3 (16) | 3 (43) | 0 (0) | 0.067 |
| Diuretic | 14 (74) | 5 (71) | 5 (83) | 0.612 |
| Platelet inhibitor | 6 (32) | 2 (29) | 1 (17) | 0.612 |
| Anticoagulant | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | – |
| INTERMACS profiles 1–3, n (%) | 15 (80) | 6 (86) | 4 (67) | 0.416 |
| NT-proBNP (ng/L), median (IQR) | 4724 (1526–20 890) | 17499 (4724–30 212) | 1443 (1306–3858) | 0.008 |
| Change in NT-proBNP after 3 months LVAD support | 0.23 (0.07–0.62) | 0.08 (0.04–0.13) | 0.62 (0.54–1.14) | 0.001 |
| LVEF (%), median (IQR) | 15 (15–25) | 20 (10–30) | 15 (13–23) | 0.662 |
Data are shown for the whole cohort and for the good and poor responder subgroups. The P-value refers to comparison of the subgroups.
IQR, interquartile range; INTERMACS, Interagency Registry for Mechanically Assisted Circulatory Support; LVAD, left ventricular assist device; MRA, mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist.