Table 1.
Patient characteristics of the healthy—and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) group
| Healthy group (n = 70) | DCM group (n = 350) | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age [years] | 51.9 ± 15.2 | 52.2 ± 15.2 | 0.87 |
| Male gender [n] | 46 (65.7%) | 259 (73.9%) | 0.16 |
| Weight [kg] | 75.9 ± 10.4 | 79.8 ± 15.7 | < 0.01 |
| Height [cm] | 174.4 ± 8.9 | 175.8 ± 9.3 | 0.26 |
| BMI [kg/m2] | 24.9 ± 3.0 | 25.8 ± 4.3 | < 0.05 |
| NYHA class [n] | |||
| I | 70 (100.0%) | 84 (24.0%) | < 0.001 |
| II | 0 | 152 (43.4%) | < 0.001 |
| III | 0 | 108 (30.9%) | < 0.001 |
| IV | 0 | 6 (1.7%) | < 0.001 |
| Cardiovascular risk factors [n] | |||
| Arterial hypertension | 0 | 154 (44.0%) | < 0.001 |
| Dyslipidemia | 0 | 89 (25.4%) | < 0.001 |
| Diabetes | 0 | 42 (12.0%) | < 0.001 |
| Smoker | 12 (17.1%) | 140 (40.0%) | < 0.001 |
| Family history of CAD | 0 | 77 (22.0%) | < 0.001 |
| Obesity | 4 (5.7%) | 52 (14.9%) | < 0.001 |
| Heart failure therapy | |||
| ACE inhibitor/ARB | 0 | 346 (98.9%) | < 0.001 |
| ß-Blocker | 0 | 300 (85.7%) | < 0.001 |
| Aldosterone receptor antagonist | 0 | 145 (41.4%) | < 0.001 |
| Loop diuretic | 0 | 169 (48.3%) | < 0.001 |
| Heart rate [/min] | 68.5 ± 10.1 | 71.4 ± 15.2 | 0.05 |
| Atrial fibrillation [n] | 0 | 55 (15.7%) | < 0.001 |
| Laboratory findings | |||
| Hemoglobine [g/dl] | 14.5 (13.5–15.4) | 14.3 (13.3–15.4) | 0.14 |
| Creatinine [mg/dl] | 0.9 (0.7–1.0) | 0.9 (0.8–1.1) | 0.10 |
| NT-pro BNP [ng/l] | 39.0 (24.0–61.0) | 373.0 (124.0–1797.0)† | < 0.001 |
ACE angiotensin converting enzyme, ARB angiotensin receptor blocker, BMI body mass index, CAD coronary artery disease, NT-pro BNP N-terminal pro-hormone brain natriuretic peptide, NYHA New York Heart Association
†NT-pro BNP values of 110 patients missing