Prognostic impacts of dynamic cardiac structural changes in heart failure patients with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction

Aims: We aimed to examine temporal changes in left ventricular (LV) structures and their prognostic impacts in patients with heart failure (HF) and preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Methods and results: In the Chronic Heart Failure Analysis and Registry in the Tohoku District-2 (CHART-2) study (n = 10 219), we divided 2698 consecutive HFpEF patients (68.9 ± 12.2 years, 32.1% female) into three groups by LV hypertrophy (LVH) and enlargement (LVE) at baseline: (−)LVH/(−)LVE (n = 989), (+)LVH/(−)LVE (n = 1448), and (+)LVH/(+)LVE (n = 261). We examined temporal changes in LV structures and their prognostic impacts during a median 8.7-year follow-up. From (−)LVH/(−)LVE, (+)LVH/(−)LVE to (+)LVH/(+)LVE at baseline, the incidence of the primary outcome, a composite of cardiovascular death or HF admission, significantly increased. Among 1808 patients who underwent echocardiography at both baseline and 1 year, we noted substantial group transitions from baseline to 1 year; the transition rates from (−)LVH/(−)LVE to (+)LVH/(−)LVE, from (+)LVH/(−)LVE to (−)LVH/(−)LVE, from (+)LVH/(−)LVE to (+)LVH/(+)LVE, and from (+)LVH/(+)LVE to (+)LVH/(−)LVE were 27% (182/671), 22% (213/967), 6% (59/967), and 26% (44/170), respectively. In the univariable Cox proportional hazard model, patients who transitioned from (+)LVH/(−)LVE to (+)LVH/(+)LVE or remained in (+)LVH/(+)LVE had the worst subsequent prognosis [hazard ratio (HR) 4.65, 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.09–6.99, P < 0.001; HR 4.01, 95% CI 2.85–5.65, P < 0.001, respectively], as compared with those who remained in (−)LVH/(−)LVE. These results were unchanged after adjustment for the covariates including baseline LV ejection fraction (LVEF) and 1-year LVEF change. Conclusion: In HFpEF patients, LV structures dynamically change over time with significant prognostic impacts, where patients who develop LVE with LVH have the worst prognosis.