Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of the HFrEF patients and control group
| Variables | HFrEF (n=129) | Control group (n=50) | P-value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Demographic and clinical characteristics | |||
| Age (years) | 65±12 | 49±12 | <0.001 |
| Male | 73 (57%) | 22 (44%) | 0.130 |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 26.8 (23.9–29.0) | 26.5 (24.2–28.1) | 0.799 |
| Right-sided heart failure | 71 (55%) | 0% | <0.001 |
| Hypertension | 98 (76%) | 0% | <0.001 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 53 (41%) | 0% | <0.001 |
| Ischemic etiology | 70 (54%) | 0% | <0.001 |
| Atrial fibrillation | 61 (47%) | 0% | <0.001 |
| Echocardiographic characteristics | |||
| Ejection fraction (%) | 25 (20–40) | 70 (65–76) | <0.001 |
| Left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (mm) | 58±10 | 46±5 | <0.001 |
| Left atrium diameter (mm) | 48 (42–54) | 36 (34–38) | <0.001 |
| Right ventricle outflow tract diameter (mm) | 27 (25–30) | 24 (22–25) | <0.001 |
| Pulmonary artery systolic pressure (mmHg) | 40 (25–50) | 20 (20–25) | <0.001 |
| Medications | |||
| ACE-I/ARB | 75 (58%) | 0 (0%) | <0.001 |
| Beta-blockers | 101 (78%) | 0 (0%) | <0.001 |
| MRAs | 21 (16%) | 0 (0%) | 0.002 |
| Statins | 42 (33%) | 0 (0%) | <0.001 |
| Digoxin | 21 (16%) | 0 (0%) | 0.002 |
| Loop diuretics | 104 (81%) | 0 (0%) | <0.001 |
| Warfarin | 50 (39%) | 0 (0%) | <0.001 |
| ICD/CRT | 43 (33%) | 0 (0%) | <0.001 |
| Laboratory analysis | |||
| NT-proBNP (pg/mL) | 1,390 (443–4,290) | 61 (25–105) | <0.001 |
| eGFR (mL/min) | 65 (43–89) | 101 (88–107) | <0.001 |
| Uric acid (mg/dL) | 7.4±2.7 | 5.3±1.5 | <0.001 |
| Sodium (mEq/L) | 136 (134–138) | 138 (138–139) | <0.001 |
| Hs-CRP (mg/dL) | 0.90 (0.27–2.93) | 0.29 (0.09–0.55) | <0.001 |
| AST (U/L) | 19 (15–27) | 18 (15–22) | 0.321 |
| ALT (U/L) | 16 (12–26) | 19 (14–29) | 0.247 |
| Direct bilirubin (mg/dL) | 0.4 (0.2–0.6) | 0.2 (0.2–0.3) | <0.001 |
| Indirect bilirubin (mg/dL) | 0.3 (0.2–0.5) | 0.3 (0.2–0.4) | 0.073 |
| INR | 1.14 (1.05–1.31) | 0.99 (0.96–1.03) | <0.001 |
| Albumin (mg/dL) | 3.6±0.6 | 4.3±0.3 | <0.001 |
| Total cholesterol (mg/dL) | 158±45 | 199±34 | <0.001 |
| Hematological and hematinic parameters | |||
| Hemoglobin (g/dL) | 12.6±2.0 | 13.6±1.3 | 0.003 |
| MCV (10 fL) | 86 (82–93) | 90 (85–93) | 0.031 |
| Platelets (103 µL) | 235 (200–290) | 253 (217–321) | 0.099 |
| Ferritin (µg/L) | 48 (31–85) | 29 (13–62) | <0.001 |
| Transferrin saturation (%) | 15 (10–23) | 21 (13–30) | 0.022 |
| Folic acid (ng/mL) | 7.7 (5.8–10.1) | 8.5 (6.4–10.5) | 0.305 |
| B12 (pg/mL) | 271 (188–415) | 198 (140–321) | 0.005 |
Abbreviations: ACE-I/ARB, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin receptor blockers; ALT, alanine aminotransferase; AST, aspartate aminotransferase; eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate; HFrEF, heart failure with reduced ejection fraction; Hs-CRP, high sensitive C-reactive protein; ICD/CRT, implantable cardioverter defibrillator/cardiac resynchronization therapy; INR, international normalized ratio; MCV, mean corpuscular volume; MRAs, mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists; NT-proBNP, N-terminal prohormone of brain natiuretic peptide.