Combining clinical markers can predict mortality in NYHA IV heart failure

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Biomarkers
• Prognostic Indicators

Background:

• Early assessment of heart failure (HF) prognosis is vital for patient outcomes.
• Several biomarkers, including Brain Natriuretic Peptide (BNP), uric acid (UA), pre-albumin (PA), red blood cell distribution width (RDW), and Cystatin C (Cys C), are implicated in HF development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the combined diagnostic utility of BNP, UA, PA, RDW, and Cys C as indicators for predicting mortality in patients with New York Heart Association (NYHA) classification IV heart failure (IV-HF).

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 193 patients with NYHA IV-HF underwent clinical and echocardiographic assessment.
• Patient data were collected, and survival status was monitored over a six-month follow-up period.

Main Results:

• Mortality was observed in 38.34% of patients within six months.
• Higher levels of age, disease duration, Cys C, UA, BNP, RDW, and cardiac dimensions, along with lower PA and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), were associated with increased mortality.
• Cys C, UA, BNP, and RDW independently predicted mortality, while PA showed a protective association.

Conclusions:

• Biomarkers such as Cys C, UA, BNP, RDW, and PA are significant independent risk factors for mortality in NYHA IV-HF patients.
• A combination of clinical factors (age, disease duration) and biomarker levels (RDW, Cys C, UA, BNP, PA) can serve as effective diagnostic indicators for predicting mortality in this patient population.