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Copyright: © 2021 Matsuda et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Background Depression and anxiety are common mental health problems that are strongly associated with sleep disturbances, according to community-based researches. However, this association has not been investigated among patients admitted for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). We examined the prevalence of depression and anxiety in inpatients with various CVDs and their association with sleep disturbances. Materials and methods This cross-sectional study included 1294 patients hospitalized for CVDs in a Japanese university hospital were evaluated for their mental status using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), for sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) using pulse oximetry, and for sleep quality using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Results Patient characteristics were as below: mean age, 63.9±14.7 years; 25.7% female. Overall, 18.9% had depression (HADS-depression>8) and 17.1% had anxiety (HADS-anxiety>8). The presence of depression was associated with female sex, older age, higher plasma brain natriuretic peptide level, lower estimated glomerular filtration rate, and the prevalence of heart failure. Overall, 46.5% patients were categorized as having a poor sleep quality (PSQI>5), and 28.5% patients had SDB (3% oxygen desaturation index>15). Although depression and anxiety were not associated with SDB, they were independently associated with poor sleep quality (OR = 3.09, 95% CI 2.19–4.36; OR = 3.93, 95% CI 2.71–5.69, respectively). Conclusions Depression and anxiety were not uncommon in patients with CVDs. Poor sleep quality could be an important risk factor linked to psychological disturbances.

Background: Measuring the quality of care has been central for improving the outcomes of patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). This study described the performance rates and regional variations in quality metrics for PCI using a representative national Japanese registry. Methods: Overall, 760,854 patients across 714 institutions (2016–2018) were analysed. Quality metrics included preprocedural antiplatelet therapy use, door-to-balloon time ≤90 min for ST-elevation myocardial infarction, transradial approach, and preprocedural noninvasive stress testing for elective cases in 47 Japanese prefectures. Coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) and fractional flow reserve (FFR) were also evaluated. Factors associated with preprocedural testing rates were evaluated using multivariable linear regression. Findings: Rates of preprocedural antiplatelet therapy use were high with low variations (96·4% [94·7–97·2%]), but there was still substantial room for improvement in the rates of door-to-balloon time (74·7% [71·2–78·9%]) and transradial approach use (70·9% [65·1–73·4%]). Rates of preprocedural noninvasive stress testing were low with substantial variation (36·6% [27·1–49·7%]). Additionally, we found substantial variations in CCTA (50·0% [39·5–55·1%]) and FFR measurement (15·7% [113·–18·3%]) rates. The number of scintigraphy scanners/ prefecture was associated with the performance of noninvasive stress testing (13·4% [95% CI, 2·45–24·4%] increase for every 1/100,000 population increase in scanners). Interpretations: We observed substantial regional variation in the use of preprocedural testing, and its performance was directly related to nuclear-scanner availability. These findings suggest the need for targeted efforts in improving testing rates, whether by optimising resource allocation or additional education or feedback mechanisms. Funding: This study was funded by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (Grant Nos. 20H03915, 16H05215, 16KK0186, and 20K22883) and by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research Program (Grant No. 21FA1015). The J-PCI registry is led and supported by the Japanese Association of Cardiovascular Intervention and Therapeutics.

Background: Exercise therapy for cardiovascular disease (CVD) is mainly evaluated based on the heart rate (HR) or Borg scale. However, these indices can be unreliable depending on the patient's medication or their subjective decisions; thus, alternative methods are required for easier and safer implementation of aerobic exercise. Here, we examined whether real-time analysis of HR variability (HRV) can help maintain exercise intensity at the ventilatory threshold (VT) during exercise. Methods: Twenty-eight patients with CVD treated at Keio University Hospital between August 2018 and March 2020 were enrolled. Initially, oxygen uptake (VO2) and HR at the VT were determined using the cardiopulmonary exercise test. Patients then performed aerobic exercise on a stationary bicycle for 30 min while a parameter of HRV, the high-frequency (HF) component, was monitored in real time using an electrocardiograph. The work rate during exercise was adjusted every 2 min to maintain the HF range between 5 and 10. The VO2 and HR values, recorded every 2 min during exercise, were compared with those at VT. The Bland–Altman method was used to confirm similarity. Results: VO2 and HR during exercise were closely correlated with those at VT (e.g., 19 min after exercise initiation; VO2: r = 0.647, HR: r = 0.534). The Bland–Altman plot revealed no bias between the mean values (e.g., 19 min; VO2: −0.22 mL/kg/min; HR: −0.07/min). Conclusion: Real-time HRV analysis with electrocardiograph alone during exercise can provide continuous and non-invasive exercise intensity measurements at VT, promoting safer and effective exercise strategies.

Purpose: This study investigated whether the oral vasopressin V2 receptor antagonist tolvaptan has beneficial effects on mortality in real-world congestive heart failure (CHF) patients with hypoperfusion (i.e. the wet–cold pattern), from the viewpoint of cardiorenal syndrome. Methods: Data on 5511 consecutive CHF patients were extracted from the Tokyo CCU Network data registry. Congestion and hypoperfusion were defined by Nohria–Stevenson clinical profiles at the time of hospitalization. Propensity scores for tolvaptan use were calculated for each patient and used to assemble two matched cohorts of patients receiving tolvaptan or not in the CHF with and without hypoperfusion groups. Results: Of the entire study cohort, 1073 patients (19%) had CHF with hypoperfusion (i.e. the wet–cold pattern). In-hospital mortality was significantly higher for CHF patients with than without hypoperfusion (log-rank, P < 0.001). The rate of tolvaptan use did not differ significantly between CHF patients with and without hypoperfusion (15% vs. 14%, respectively; P = 0.7848). In the propensity-matched CHF with hypoperfusion cohort, there was a significant association between the use of tolvaptan and a reduction in in-hospital mortality (log-rank, P = 0.0052). Conversely, in the matched CHF without hypoperfusion cohort, tolvaptan use was not associated with in-hospital mortality (log-rank, P = 0.4417). Conclusion: There was a significant association between the use of tolvaptan and a reduction in in-hospital mortality in CHF patients with, but not without, hypoperfusion. These findings hint at possible individualized therapies for patients with CHF.

The efficacy of extensive balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA) beyond hemodynamic improvement in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) patients has been verified. However, the relationship between extensive BPA in CTEPH patients after partial hemodynamic improvement and exercise tolerance or quality of life (QOL) remains unclear. We prospectively enrolled 22 CTEPH patients (66±10 years, females: 59%) when their mean pulmonary artery pressure initially decreased to <30 mmHg during BPA sessions. Hemodynamic and echocardiographic data, cardiopulmonary exercise testing, and QOL scores using the 36-item short form questionnaire (SF-36) were evaluated at enrollment (entry), just after the final BPA session (finish), and at the 6-month follow-up (followup). We analyzed whether extensive BPA improves exercise capacity and QOL scores over time. Moreover, the clinical characteristics leading to improvement were elucidated. The peak oxygen uptake (VO2) showed significant improvement at entry, finish, and follow-up (17.3±5.5, 18.4±5.9, and 18.9±5.3 mL/kg/min, respectively; P<0.001). Regarding the QOL, the physical component summary (PCS) scores significantly improved (32±11, 38±13, and 43±13, respectively; P<0.001), but the mental component summary scores remained unchanged. Linear regression analysis revealed that age and a low peak VO2 at entry were predictors of improvement in peak VO2, while low PCS scores and low TAPSE at entry were predictors of improvement in PCS scores. In conclusion, extensive BPA led to improved exercise tolerance and physical QOL scores, even in CTEPH patients with partially improved hemodynamics.

Aims: Evidence on the association between ambient temperature and the onset of acute heart failure (AHF) is scarce and mixed. We sought to investigate the incidence of AHF admissions based on ambient temperature change, with particular interest in detecting the difference between AHF with preserved (HFpEF), mildly reduced (HFmrEF), and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Methods and results: Individualized AHF admission data from January 2015 to December 2016 were obtained from a multicentre registry (Tokyo CCU Network Database). The primary event was the daily number of admissions. A linear regression model, using the lowest ambient temperature as the explanatory variable, was selected for the best-estimate model. We also applied the cubic spline model using five knots according to the percentiles of the distribution of the lowest ambient temperature. We divided the entire population into HFpEF + HFmrEF and HFrEF for comparison. In addition, the in-hospital treatment and mortality rates were obtained according to the interquartile ranges (IQRs) of the lowest ambient temperature (IQR1 <5.5°C; IQR25.5–13.3°C; IQR3 13.3–19.7°C; and IQR4 >19.7°C). The number of admissions for HFpEF, HFmrEF and HFrEF were 2736 (36%), 1539 (20%), and 3354 (44%), respectively. The lowest ambient temperature on the admission day was inversely correlated with the admission frequency for both HFpEF + HFmrEF and HFrEF patients, with a stronger correlation in patients with HFpEF + HFmrEF (R2 = 0.25 vs. 0.05, P < 0.001). In the sensitivity analysis, the decrease in the ambient temperature was associated with the greatest incremental increases in HFpEF, followed by HFmrEF and HFrEF patients (3.5% vs. 2.8% vs. 1.5% per −1°C, P < 0.001), with marked increase in admissions of hypertensive patients (systolic blood pressure >140 mmHg vs. 140–100 mmHg vs. <100 mmHg, 3.0% vs. 2.0% vs. 0.8% per −1°C, P for interaction <0.001). A mediator analysis indicated the presence of the mediator effect of systolic blood pressure. The in-hospital mortality rate (7.5%) did not significantly change according to ambient temperature (P = 0.62). Conclusions: Lower ambient temperature was associated with higher frequency of AHF admissions, and the effect was more pronounced in HFpEF and HFmrEF patients than in those with HFrEF.

Background: Despite the benefits of the sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor (SGLT2i) empagliflozin, its suitability for patients with heart failure (HF) in the real-world setting remains unclear. Considering the unique pharmacological profile of SGLT2i (e.g., glucose excretion leading to calorie loss) and increasingly aging patients with HF, applicability of trials' finding in patients with malnutrition is important. Methods: We examined 1633 consecutive patients with a preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF; >40%) enrolled in a multicenter-based acute HF registry. After applying the EMPEROR-Preserved eligibility criteria, we compared the baseline characteristics of trial-eligible and actual trial participants, and patients with and without malnutrition among the trial-eligible group. Malnutrition was assessed by the geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI). The trial-eligible patients were divided into high (GNRI≥92) and low (GNRI<92) nutritional groups, and a composite endpoint comprising all-cause death and HF rehospitalization was evaluated. Results: Majority (70.2%) of the analyzed patients were eligible for the EMPEROR-Preserved trial (age: 77 ± 12 years and body mass index [BMI]: 22.0 ± 4.1 kg/m2), but were older and had lower BMIs than the actual trial participants. Notably, 51.9% of the eligible patients were at high risk for malnutrition and had a higher rate of the composite endpoint than non-malnourished counterparts (HR 1.27, 95%CI 1.04–1.56, P = 0.020). The difference in outcomes was predominantly due to mortality from non-cardiac causes. Conclusions: Mostly patients with HF in a real-world setting met the EMPEROR-Preserved criteria; however, approximately half were at high risk for malnutrition with poorer outcomes owing to non-cardiac-related causes.

Aims: The discontinuation of oral anticoagulants (OACs) remains as a significant concern in the management of atrial fibrillation (AF). The discontinuation rate may vary depending on management strategy, and physicians may also discontinue OACs due to concerns about patient satisfaction with their care. We aimed to assess the incidence of OAC discontinuation and its relationship to patients’ health in an outpatient AF registry. Methods and Results: From a multicenter registry for newly recognized AF patients (n = 3313), we extracted 1647 (49.7%) patients with OACs and a CHA2DS2-Vasc score of ≥2. Discontinuation was defined as sustained cessation of OACs within a 1-year follow-up. We examined predictors associated with discontinuation and its relations to health status defined by the AFEQT questionnaire. Of the 1647 patients, 385 (23.6%) discontinued OACs after 1 year, with discontinuation rates varying across treatment strategies (15.3% for catheter ablation, 4.9% for rhythm control with antiarrhythmic drugs, and 3.0% for rate control). Successful rhythm control was associated with discontinuation in the catheter ablation (OR 6.61, 95% CI 3.00–14.6, p < 0.001) and antiarrhythmic drugs (OR 6.47, 95% CI 2.62–15.9, p < 0.001) groups, whereas the incidence of bleeding events within 1 year was associated with discontinuation in the rate control group. One-year AFEQT scores did not significantly differ between patients who discontinued OACs and those who did not in each treatment strategy group. Conclusions: OAC discontinuation was common among AF patients with significant stroke risk but varied depending on the chosen treatment strategy. This study also found no significant association between OAC discontinuation and patients’ health status.

Background: Climate is known to influence the incidence of cardiovascular events. However, their prediction with traditional statistical models remains imprecise. Methods and Results: We analyzed 27,799 acute heart failure (AHF) admissions within the Tokyo CCU Network Database from January 2014 to December 2019. High-risk AHF (HR-AHF) day was defined as a day with the upper 10th percentile of AHF admission volume. Deep neural network (DNN) and traditional regression models were developed using the admissions in 2014–2018 and tested in 2019. Explanatory variables included 17 meteorological parameters. Shapley additive explanations were used to evaluate their importance. The median number of incidences of AHF was 12 (9–16) per day in 2014–2018 and 11 (9–15) per day in 2019. The predicted AHF admissions correlated well with the observed numbers (DNN: R2 = 0.413, linear regression: R2 = 0.387). The DNN model was superior in predicting HR-AHF days compared with the logistic regression model [c-statistics: 0.888 (95% CI: 0.818–0.958) vs 0.827 (95% CI: 0.745–0.910): P = .0013]. Notably, the strongest predictive variable was the 7-day moving average of the lowest ambient temperatures. Conclusions: The DNN model had good prediction ability for incident AHF using climate information. Forecasting AHF admissions could be useful for the effective management of AHF.

Patients hospitalized for heart failure (HF) experience impairments in functional status, primarily affecting basic activities of daily living (ADL). We investigated the independent effect of functional status for ADL on patient-centered outcomes (i.e., home discharge) and conventional clinical outcomes in HF. We analyzed 2936 consecutive hospitalized patients with HF from a prospective multicenter registry. The functional status of ADL was assessed before discharge by using the Barthel index (BI). Patients were categorized into the lower BI group (≤85; the lowest tertile) and higher BI group (>85). We evaluated the risk-adjusted association between BI and non-home discharge, as well as the two-year all-cause mortality. Exploratory subgroups included patients categorized by age, sex, HF hospitalization, left ventricular ejection fraction, body mass index, and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). Of the participants (age: 79 [69–85] years; 41.1% women), 86.3% were discharged home. A lower BI was independently associated with non-home discharge (OR: 5.12, 95% CI 3.86–6.80) and higher all-cause mortality rates (HR: 1.96, 95% CI 1.58–2.45). Two-year cardiac and non-cardiac mortality rates were higher in the lower BI group; however, the proportion of cardiac causes in two-year deaths did not differ between the lower and higher BI groups (48.8% vs. 49.5%, P = 0.891). Subgroup analyses consistently demonstrated an association between two-year mortality and lower BI; however, this association was stronger among patients with a higher eGFR (P-value for interaction = 0.004). A lower BI was independently associated with non-home discharge and higher mortality rates because of cardiac- and non-cardiac-related causes in hospitalized patients with HF.

Background: Left-sided heart disease is the leading etiology of tricuspid regurgitation (TR) in heart failure (HF); however, the association between different HF phenotypes and the adverse effects of TR remains unclear. Objectives: The authors aimed to elucidate the association between TR and outcomes across the subtypes of left-sided heart disease in patients hospitalized for HF. Methods: We analyzed data from the multicenter West Tokyo Heart Failure registry between January 2006 and December 2021. Moderate or severe mitral or aortic valve disease was defined as left-sided valve dysfunction (LVD). Patients with congenital heart disease, secondary cardiomyopathy, systemic conditions related to HF, or those with incomplete datasets were excluded. Using a multivariable Cox hazard model, the survival effect of TR on mortality in patients with LVD was examined. Results: Overall, 3,040 presented with LVD (median age, 80 years; 45.9% female), and 2,438 had no LVD (median age, 74 years; 27.8% female). The prevalence of moderate and severe TR was 27.6% and 6.5% in patients with LVD and 9.2% and 1.5% in those without LVD, respectively. The adjusted HRs of moderate and severe TR for mortality were 1.25 (95% CI: 1.03-1.52) and 1.72 (95% CI: 1.30-2.29) in those with LVD, respectively, and 2.15 (95% CI: 1.62-2.84) and 3.09 (95% CI: 1.87-5.09) in those without LVD, respectively. Significant interactions between the subtypes were observed (P = 0.005). Conclusions: TR severity stratified mortality after acute decompensated HF better in patients without LVD than in those with LVD.

Background: Clinical congestion is the most frequent reason for hospital admission in patients with acute heart failure (AHF). However, few studies have investigated the patterns and prognostic implication of the physical congestion using unbiased and robust statistical methods. Methods: A hierarchical agglomerative clustering analysis was performed in the multicenter Japanese AHF registry (N = 3151) with the distance calculated by Jaccard's distance for jugular vein distention (JVD), leg edema, S3, crackles, and orthopnea. The primary outcome was a composite of cardiac death and heart failure readmission within 1-year. Results: At the time of admission, the median number of prevalent congestive signs was 2. We identified three phenogroups: ‘no physical congestions’ (N = 251); ‘congestion without JVD’ (N = 1415); and ‘congestion with JVD’ (N = 1495). Patients in ‘no physical congestion’ were the youngest (median 75 [62, 83] years) with the lowest systolic blood pressure (122 [106, 142] mmHg). Patients in ‘congestion without JVD’, and ‘congestion with JVD’ were similar in terms of age (77 [67, 84] vs. 78 [69, 84] years) and systolic blood pressure (138 [118, 160] vs. 137 [118, 158] mmHg). While 30-day mortality was similar (4.0%, 3.7%, and 4.3% in ‘no physical congestion,’ ‘congestion without JVD,’ and ‘congestion with JVD’, respectively), the patients in ‘congestion with JVD’ were at the highest risk for the primary outcome (adjusted hazard ratio 1.79, 95% CI 1.26–2.55 when ‘no physical congestion’ was a reference). Conclusions: Our clustering analysis demonstrated that congestion signs, particularly JVD, allowed identification of AHF phenogroups with distinct clinical characteristics and long-term outcomes.

Shared decision-making (SDM) is a pivotal process in seeking optimal individual treatment and incorporating clinical evidence and patients’ autonomous preferences. However, patients’ actual attitudes toward participation in decision-making for state-of-the-art heart failure (HF) treatment remain unclear. We conducted a questionnaire-based survey distributed by nurses and physicians specializing in HF care to assess patients’ preferred and perceived participation roles in treatment decision-making during the index hospitalization, rated on five scales (from extremely passive to purely autonomous attitudes). Simultaneously, we investigated the important factors underlying treatment decision-making from the perspective of hospitalized HF patients. Of the 202 patients who were approached by our multidisciplinary HF team between 2017 and 2020, 166 (82.2%) completed the survey. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify the clinical determinants of patients who reported that they left all decisions to physicians (i.e., extremely passive attitude). Of the 166 participants (male 67.5%, median age 73 years), 32.5% preferred an extremely passive attitude, while 61.4% reported that they actually chose an extremely passive attitude. A sole determinant of choosing an extremely passive decision-making role was lower educational status (odds ratio: 2.11, 95% confidence interval 1.11–4.00). The most important factor underlying the decision-making was “Physician recommendation” (89.2%). Notably, less than 50% considered “In alignment with my values and preferences” as an important factor underlying treatment decision-making. The majority of HF patients reported that they chose an extremely passive approach, and patients prioritized physician recommendation over their own values and preferences. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.].

Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (GNRI) is known both as a reliable indicator of nutritional status and a predictor of long-term survival among patients with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF). However, the optimal timing to evaluate GNRI during hospitalization remains unclear. In the present study, we retrospectively analyzed patients hospitalized with ADHF in the West Tokyo Heart Failure (WET-HF) registry. GNRI was assessed at hospital admission (a-GNRI) and discharge (d-GNRI). Out of 1474 patients included in the present study, 568 (40.1%) and 796 (57.2%) patients had lower GNRI (<92) at hospital admission and discharge, respectively. After the follow-up (median 616 days), 290 patients died. The multivariable analysis showed that all-cause mortality was independently associated with d-GNRI (per 1 unit decrease, adjusted hazard ratio [aHR]: 1.06, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.04–1.09, p < 0.001), but not with a-GNRI (aHR: 0.99, 95% CI: 0.97–1.01, p = 0.341). The predictability of GNRI for long-term survival was more pronounced when evaluated at hospital discharge than at hospital admission (area under the curve 0.699 vs. 0.629, DeLong’s test p < 0.001). Our study suggested that GNRI should be evaluated at hospital discharge, regardless of the assessment at hospital admission, to predict the long-term prognosis for patients hospitalized with ADHF.

© 2019, Japanese Circulation Society. All rights reserved. Background: The natural course of heart failure (HF) is typically associated with repeated hospitalizations, and subsequently, patient prognosis deteriorates. However, the precise relationship between repeated admissions for HF and long-term prognosis remains unknown. Methods and Results: We analyzed data from 1,730 consecutive acute HF patients registered in the West Tokyo Heart Failure (WET-HF) registry between June 2005 and April 2014 (median age, 76 years). Patients were divided into 3 groups according to the number of previous HF admissions at the time of the index admission (0, n=876 [55.4%]; 1, n=425 [26.9%]; ≥2, n=279 [17.7%] previous admissions). A history of multiple previous admissions was an independent predictor for all-cause death and HF readmission in reference to a history of a single previous admission (hazard ratio (HR), 1.53; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.10–2.13; HR, 1.90 95% CI, 1.47–2.44, respectively) or no previous admissions (HR, 1.37, 95% CI, 1.01–1.85; HR, 2.83, 95% CI, 2.19–3.65, respec-tively). On the other hand, a history of a single previous admission was an independent predictor for HF readmission in reference to a history of no previous admissions (HR, 1.51, 95% CI, 1.18–1.92), but not for all-cause death (HR, 0.89, 95% CI, 0.66–1.20). Conclusions: Based on a contemporary multicenter HF registry, a history of multiple previous HF admissions was revealed as an independent, strong risk factor of adverse events following the index admission. The number of hospitalizations could be a simple and important surrogate indicating subsequent adverse events in patients with HF.

Background: Patients with heart failure (HF) presenting with low blood pressure (BP) have been underrepresented in large-scale clinical trials. We investigated the characteristics and implementation of conventional guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT; renin-angiotensin system inhibitors and β-blockers) in patients with low BP hospitalized for HF with systolic dysfunction. Methods: Conventional GDMT was evaluated by discharge BP among 2043 consecutive patients with HF and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) < 50% in the WET-HF registry. Among the 708 (34.7%) patients with lower discharge BP (≤ 100 mmHg; the lower tertiles), exploratory subgroups included patients with previous HF hospitalization, inotrope use, New York Heart Association (NYHA) III–IV class, and lower estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and LVEF (lower than median value). We evaluated the risk-adjusted association between GDMT implementation and 2-year adverse events (all-cause mortality or HF rehospitalization). Results: Among the 2043 patients (age 74 [63–82] years), the median systolic BP was 108 (98–120) mmHg. Among patients with lower BP, GDMT prescription rate was 62.7%, and GDMT use was associated with decreased adverse events (HR:0.74, 95%CI:0.58–0.94). GDMT prescription rates were lower among higher-NYHA class and lower-eGFR subgroups compared with their reference subgroups, and directionally similar outcomes were noted in all subgroups (favoring GDMT use); however, this association was somewhat attenuated in the lower-eGFR group (HR:0.87, 95%CI:0.64–1.17). Conclusions: Conventional GDMT use was associated with decreased adverse outcomes in most patients with HF compounded by systolic dysfunction and low BP, albeit caution is warranted in patients with renal dysfunction.

© 2019 Elsevier Inc. Background: Patients having heart failure with midrange ejection fraction (HFmrEF: 40% ≤ EF < 50%) are increasingly being considered a new subset of the population with heart failure. Despite recent advances in heart-failure treatment strategies, the prognosis of these patients has not improved substantially over time. In addition, the significance of this new phenotype in hospitalized patients with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF), another population whose prognosis has not improved, also remains poorly understood. This study aimed to describe the clinical characteristics, prognosis and treatment responses of patients with HFmrEF hospitalized for ADHF. Methods: On the basis of consecutive inpatient data from a multicenter ADHF registry, 651 of 3572 patients (17.1%) were classified as having HFmrEF. Prognostic factors predicting composite outcomes, defined as all-cause death and heart failure readmission, as well as all-cause death alone, were analyzed. Results: In the median follow-up duration of 724 days, both composite endpoints and all-cause death alone were comparable in those with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, HFmrEF and heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. Age, anemia, hyponatremia, elevated blood urea nitrogen, chronic kidney disease, and elevated plasma brain natriuretic peptide levels were significant predictors of composite outcomes in HFmrEF. Conclusions: Roughly one-sixth of the patients with ADHF had HFmrEF. The long-term prognosis of patients with HFmrEF was not significantly different from that of patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction and heart failure with reduced ejection fraction in the population with ADHF. Risk factors for adverse outcomes in HFmrEF were also similar to those for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction and HFmrEF in the hospitalized population with ADHF.