Inflammatory biomarkers are not predictive of intermediate-term risk of ventricular tachyarrhythmias in stable CHF patients.
BACKGROUND
Elevated levels of inflammatory biomarkers and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) are associated with increased mortality in patients with heart failure (HF).


OBJECTIVE
: The aim of the current study was to assess the correlation between circulating biomarkers and ventricular tachyarrhythmias among patients with HF.


METHODS
Blood samples from 50 stable ambulatory HF patients with moderate to severe systolic left ventricular (LV) dysfunction and an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) were analyzed for interleukin 6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and BNP. Thereafter, the patients were followed for a mean period of 152 +/- 44 days, during which ventricular tachyarrhythmias were recorded by the ICDs.


RESULTS
Follow-up data were obtained from 47 patients. Of them, 45 (96%) had ischemic cardiomyopathy, 38 (81%) had New York Heart Association class I-II, 43 (91%) were males, and the mean age was 68.6 +/- 11.1 years. During follow-up, 5 patients (11%) had nonsustained ventricular tachycardia (NSVT), 6 patients (13%) had sustained ventricular tachycardia (VT) or ventricular fibrillation (VF) and 36 patients (76%) had no events. The circulating biomarkers' levels upon enrollment were not significantly different between patients who subsequently had NSVT or VT/VF and patients who were free of events.


CONCLUSIONS
No correlation was found between plasma levels of IL-6, TNF-alpha, hsCRP and BNP and ventricular arrhythmic events among stable HF patients during an intermediate term follow-up of 5.1 months. Further studies are still required to assess the association between these biomarkers and long-term risk of ventricular tachyarrhythmia.
Department of Cardiology, Rabin Medical Center, Petah-Tikva, Israel. yuvkon@gmail.com
Yuval
Y
Konstantino
Jairo
J
Kusniec
Tamar
T
Reshef
Ofer
O
David-Zadeh
Alexander
A
Mazur
Boris
B
Strasberg
Alexander
A
Battler
Moti
M
Haim
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D017147:Defibrillators, Implantable; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D018836:Inflammation Mediators / Q000097:blood*; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020097:Natriuretic Peptide, Brain / Q000097:blood; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012107:Research Design; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017180:Tachycardia, Ventricular / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000097:blood; D018487:Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / Q000097:blood; D014693:Ventricular Fibrillation / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy
D015415:Biomarkers; D018836:Inflammation Mediators; D015850:Interleukin-6; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D020097:Natriuretic Peptide, Brain; D002097:C-Reactive Protein