Echo- and B-Type Natriuretic Peptide-Guided Follow-Up versus Symptom-Guided Follow-Up: Comparison of the Outcome in Ambulatory Heart Failure Patients
Table 1
Demographic, clinical, and echocardiographic baseline characteristics of the study groups.
Variable
Group I ()
Group II ()
Group III ()
value
Age (years)
67 ± 12
68 ± 11++
70 ± 10‡‡
<0.0001
Follow-up (months)
35 (12–66)
36 (19–65)
39 (20–55)
0.057
Male (%)
78
80
80
0.72
Heart rate (beats/min)
75 ± 14
76 ± 15
75 ± 15
0.22
Ischemic CM (%)
50
59
62‡‡
0.024
eGFR <60 ml/m2 (%)
33
40
36
0.27
DM (%)
30
24
22‡
0.13
History of hypertension
46
49
45
0.59
Atrial fibrillation (%)
19
16
19
0.54
NYHA class > II (%)
24
27
31
0.18
Systolic BP (mmHg)
123 ± 18
133 ± 20++
124 ± 17‡‡
<0.0001
Diastolic BP (mmHg)
74 ± 10
76 ± 15++
73 ± 9‡‡
<0.0001
LV EDVi (ml/m2)
100 ± 33
86 ± 33++
109 ± 32‡‡
<0.0001
LV ESVi (ml/m2)
68 ± 29
59 ± 31++
75 ± 29‡‡
<0.0001
LVEF (%)
33 ± 8
34 ± 9
33 ± 8‡
0.070
Mitral regurgitation† (%)
28
29
37
0.039
EDT (msec)
179 ± 58
212 ± 62
159 ± 53‡‡
<0.0001
Loop diuretics (%)
82
82
86
0.27
Beta-blockers (%)
69
79++
66
0.016
ACE inhibitors or angiotensin receptor inhibitors (%)
89
86++
76‡‡
0.003
Mineralocorticoid receptor inhibitors (%)
62
58
51
0.29
CRT (%)
9
8
8
0.90
ICD (%)
17
11
12
0.071
CM: cardiomyopathy; eGFR: estimated glomerular filtration rate; DM: diabetes; NYHA: New York Heart Association; BP: blood pressure; LV: left ventricular; EDVi: end-diastolic volume index; ESVi: end-systolic volume index; LVEF: left ventricular ejection fraction; EDT: E-wave deceleration time; CRT: cardiac resynchronization therapy; ICD: implantable cardioverter defibrillator.:,: echo- and BNP-guided group versus symptom-guided group; +: , ++: symptom-guided group versus no follow-up; ‡: , ‡‡: echo- and BNP-guided group versus no follow-up.