Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 23, 2026

Isolation of Atrial Cardiomyocytes from a Rat Model of Metabolic Syndrome-related Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction
08:31

Isolation of Atrial Cardiomyocytes from a Rat Model of Metabolic Syndrome-related Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction

Published on: July 26, 2018

Stratifying prognosis in heart failure patients with reduced ejection fraction and atrial cardiomyopathy

Jung Chi Hsu1,2, Umbreen Nadeem3,4, Khalid Kazi3,4

  • 1Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Jinshan Branch, New Taipei City, Taiwan.

ESC Heart Failure
|May 21, 2026
PubMed

Insights

High FIND-AF risk indicates a worse prognosis for patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) and atrial cardiomyopathy (AtCM) without atrial fibrillation (AF). This biomarker shows superior prediction of adverse outcomes compared to CHA2DS2-VASc.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Heart Failure Research
  • Biomarker Discovery

Background:

  • The coexistence of atrial cardiomyopathy (AtCM) and heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) significantly impacts patient prognosis.
  • Identifying reliable biomarkers is crucial for risk stratification in HFrEF patients, particularly those with underlying AtCM but without established atrial fibrillation (AF).

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the prognostic value of the FIND-AF health records data biomarker.
  • To assess the association of FIND-AF with adverse outcomes in patients diagnosed with HFrEF and AtCM, specifically excluding those with pre-existing AF.

Main Methods:

  • Patients with HFrEF and AtCM without AF were identified from the ECG-HF registry and linked to clinical data.
  • Atrial cardiomyopathy (AtCM) was defined using a multi-domain framework incorporating electrocardiographic and echocardiographic parameters.
  • Patients were stratified into high and low-risk groups based on sex-specific FIND-AF thresholds. The primary outcome included incident AF, ischemic stroke, and all-cause mortality.

Main Results:

  • The primary composite outcome occurred in 71.9% of high-risk FIND-AF patients versus 50.8% of low-risk patients (OR 2.48).
  • High FIND-AF risk remained significantly associated with the composite outcome after adjustment (aOR 2.70).
  • FIND-AF demonstrated superior discrimination for the composite outcome (AUC 0.735) and ischemic stroke (AUC 0.700) compared to CHA2DS2-VASc.

Conclusions:

  • Elevated FIND-AF risk is linked to adverse prognosis in HFrEF patients with AtCM but no baseline AF.
  • The FIND-AF biomarker shows potential for improved risk stratification beyond existing scores like CHA2DS2-VASc.
  • Further external validation and prospective studies are warranted to confirm these exploratory findings.
Abstract

Keywords:
Atrial cardiomyopathyFIND-AFHeart failure with reduced ejection fractionPredictionPrognosis

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