Health status identifies heart failure outpatients at risk for hospitalization or death.
OBJECTIVE
We tested the hypothesis that one health status measure, the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ), provides prognostic information independent of other clinical data in outpatients with heart failure (HF).


BACKGROUND
Health status measures are used to describe a patient's clinical condition and have been shown to predict mortality in some populations. Their prognostic value may be particularly useful among patients with HF for identifying candidates for disease management in whom increased care may reduce hospitalizations and prevent death.


METHODS
We evaluated 505 HF patients from 13 outpatient clinics who had an ejection fraction <40% using the KCCQ summary score. Proportional hazards regression was used to evaluate the association between the KCCQ summary score (range, 0 to 100; higher scores indicate better health status) and the primary outcome of death or HF admission, adjusting for baseline patient characteristics, 6-min walk distance, and B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP).


RESULTS
The mean age was 61 years, 76% of patients were male, 51% had an ischemic HF etiology, and 5% were New York Heart Association functional class IV. At 12 months, among the 9% of patients with a KCCQ score <25, 37% had been admitted for HF and 20% had died, compared with 7% (HF admissions) and 5% (death) of those with a KCCQ score > or =75 (33% of patients, p < 0.0001 for both comparisons). In sequential multivariable models adjusting for clinical variables, 6-min walk, and BNP levels, the KCCQ score remained significantly associated with survival free of HF hospitalization.


CONCLUSIONS
A low KCCQ score is an independent predictor of poor prognosis in outpatients with HF.
Heidenreich
Paul A
PA
VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, California 94304, USA. heiden@stanford.edu
Spertus
John A
JA
Jones
Philip G
PG
Weintraub
William S
WS
Rumsfeld
John S
JS
Rathore
Saif S
SS
Peterson
Eric D
ED
Masoudi
Frederick A
FA
Krumholz
Harlan M
HM
Havranek
Edward P
EP
Conard
Mark W
MW
Williams
Randall E
RE
D000553:Ambulatory Care; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000150:complications* / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011788:Quality of Life; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D015996:Survival Rate