Inflammation as a Prognostic Marker in Heart Failure.

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Internal Medicine
• Biomarkers

Background:

• Heart failure (HF) is a significant global health burden, contributing substantially to cardiovascular hospitalizations.
• Pro-inflammatory mediators play a role in HF pathophysiology, but their prognostic impact remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate inflammation, assessed by the C-reactive protein (CRP)/albumin ratio, as a prognostic marker in chronic heart failure (HF) outpatients.
• To evaluate the association between inflammation and adverse clinical outcomes, including mortality and hospitalizations.

Main Methods:

• Prospective, single-center observational cohort study of 77 outpatients with chronic HF.
• Inflammation defined as CRP/albumin ratio ≥1.2. Patients were divided into two groups based on this ratio.
• Primary outcome: all-cause mortality. Secondary outcomes: hospitalization for decompensated HF, number and duration of hospitalizations over 12 months.

Main Results:

• Patients with inflammation (CRP/albumin ≥1.2) showed a significantly higher rate of hospitalization for decompensated HF (50.0 vs 16.3 per 100 patients).
• No significant difference in all-cause mortality was observed between the inflamed and non-inflamed groups (7.1% vs 6.1%).
• Hospitalization rates were significantly higher in the inflamed group (35.7% vs 12.2%).

Conclusions:

• In chronic HF outpatients, inflammation identified by CRP/albumin ratio ≥1.2 is not associated with increased mortality risk.
• The presence of inflammation significantly increases the risk of hospitalization due to HF decompensation.
• The CRP/albumin ratio serves as a valuable tool for identifying HF patients at higher risk of decompensation events.