Long-term outcome in relation to renal sympathetic activity in patients with chronic heart failure.
OBJECTIVE
Although cardiac sympathetic activation is associated with adverse outcome in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF), the influence of renal sympathetic activity on outcome is unknown. We assessed the hypothesis that renal noradrenaline (NA) spillover is a predictor of the combined endpoint of all-cause mortality and heart transplantation in CHF.


RESULTS
Sixty-one patients with CHF, New York Heart Association (NYHA) I-IV (66% NYHA III-IV), and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) 26+/-9% (mean+/-SD) were studied with cardiac and renal catheterizations at baseline and followed for 5.5+/-3.7 years (median 5.5 years, range 12 days to 11.6 years). Nineteen deaths and 13 cases of heart transplantation were registered. Only renal NA spillover above median, 1.19 (interquartile range 0.77-1.43) nmol/min, was independently associated with an increased relative risk (RR) of the combined endpoint (RR 3.1, 95% CI 1.2-7.6, P=0.01) in a model also including total body NA spillover, LVEF, glomerular filtration rate (GFR), renal blood flow, cardiac index, aetiology, and age.


CONCLUSIONS
Renal noradrenergic activation has a strong negative predictive value on outcome independent of overall sympathetic activity, GFR, and LVEF. These findings suggest that treatment regimens that further reduce renal noradrenergic stimulation could be advantageous by improving survival in patients with CHF.
Petersson
Magnus
M
Department of Cardiology, The Cardiovascular Institute, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, S-413 45 Göteborg, Sweden. magnus.petersson@wlab.gu.se
Friberg
Peter
P
Eisenhofer
Graeme
G
Lambert
Gavin
G
Rundqvist
Bengt
B
D001342:Autonomic Nervous System Diseases / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality* / Q000601:surgery; D016027:Heart Transplantation / Q000401:mortality*; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000294:innervation* / Q000378:metabolism; D008134:Long-Term Care; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000378:metabolism*; D011379:Prognosis; D012044:Regression Analysis
D009638:Norepinephrine