Table 1. Baseline characteristics of study-cohort.
| Variables | control (N = 263) | HF(N = 141) | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gender | |||
| Male | 163 (62.0%) | 105 (74.5%) | 0.01 |
| Age* (yrs) | 52.9 (±15.3) | 61.4 (±11.1) | <0.001 |
| Ethnicity | |||
| Chinese | 124 (47.1%) | 71 (50.4%) | 0.9 |
| Malay | 73 (27.8%) | 39 (27.7%) | |
| Indian | 46 (17.5%) | 21 (14.9%) | |
| Other | 20 (7.6%) | 10 (7.1%) | |
| Past history of smoking (n = 402) | 73 (27.8%) | 45 (31.9%) | 0.4 |
| Body mass index* (n = 158) | 27.2 (±6.6) | 29.0 (±8.9) | 0.2 |
| Medical history | |||
| Hypertension | 128 (48.7%) | 97 (68.8%) | <0.001 |
| Diabetes | 62 (23.6%) | 76 (53.9%) | <0.001 |
| Chronic Renal Impairment (n = 403) | 14 (5.3%) | 25 (17.7%) | <0.001 |
| Obesity (n = 158) | 32 (28.3%) | 14 (31.1%) | 0.4 |
| Heart Failure | 57 (40.4%) | <0.001 | |
| Anaemia (n = 375) | 56 (23.9%) | 75 (53.2%) | <0.001 |
| Myocardial Infarction | 28 (10.6%) | 42 (29.8%) | <0.001 |
| Cerebrovascular Accident | 11 (4.2%) | 13 (9.2%) | 0.1 |
| Medication | |||
| beta-blocker (n = 398) | 48(18.3%) | 73(51.8%) | <0.001 |
| ACE-I (n = 398) | 23(8.7%) | 48(34.0%) | <0.001 |
| Statin (n = 400) | 67(25.5%) | 77(54.6%) | <0.001 |
| Aspirin | 45(17.1%) | 71(50.4%) | <0.001 |
| Diuretic (n = 401) | 12(4.6%) | 66(46.8%) | <0.001 |
| HFREF | 98 (77%) | ||
| HFPEF | 29 (23%) | ||
| NYHA class | |||
| unknown | 44 (31.2%) | ||
| Class 2 | 14 (9.9%) | ||
| Class 3 | 46 (32.6%) | ||
| Class 4 | 37 (26.2%) | ||
| Reduced (estimated) GFR (n = 241) | 17 (12%) | 41 (40%) | <0.001 |
| NTproBNP* (pg/ml) | 882 (±3680) | 7801 (±9100) | <0.001 |
| Diagnoses control group | |||
| Myocardial infarction | 12 (4.6%) | ||
| Unstable angina | 16 (6.1%) | ||
| Musculo-skeletal chest pain | 54 (20.5%) | ||
| Arrhythmia | 8 (3.0%) | ||
| COPD | 15 (5.7%) | ||
| Bronchitis | 13 (4.9%) | ||
| Asthma | 64 (24.3%) | ||
| Pneumonia-Bacterial | 5 (1.9%) | ||
| Pneumonia-Viral | 1 (0.4%) | ||
| Pulmonary Embolism | 2 (0.8%) | ||
| Influenza/viral syndrome | 1 (0.4%) | ||
| Others† | 73 (27.8%) |
All numbers are presented as N (%) for categorical variables.
*Mean ± sd is shown for continuous variables.
Abbreviations: ACEI = ACE inhibitor; HFREF = heart failure with reduced ejection fraction; HFPEF = heart failure with preserved ejection fraction; GFR = glomerular filtration rate; COPD = chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
†others: diagnosis not specified: 42 patients, fluid overload due to end-stage renal failure: 2, acute myeloid leukaemia: 1, anaemia: 1, anaphylaxis: 3, biliary colic: 1, bronchiectasis: 1, cardiac tamponade: 1, chest infection: 1, cholecystitis/choledocholithiasis: 1, gastroenteritis: 2, hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia: 1, hyperventilation: 2, metastatic non-small cell lung carcinoma: 1, non-specific symptoms hyponatraemia: 1, oropharyngeal dysphagia: 1, palpitations: 3, panic attack: 1, parotiditis: 1, pleural effusion: 1, pneumothorax: 1, sepsis: 2, shortness of breath due to obesity: 1, symptomatic anaemia: 2, transient ischemic attack: 1, Upper respiratory tract infections: 3.