title: Low serum triglyceride levels as predictors of cardiac death in heart failure patients.
abstract: Understanding the influence of sex differences on predictors of cardiac mortality rates in chronic heart failure might enable us to lengthen lifetimes and to improve lives. This study describes the influence of sex on cardiovascular mortality rates among chronic heart failure patients. From January 2003 through December 2009, we evaluated 637 consecutive patients (409 men and 228 women) with chronic heart failure, who ranged in age from 18 through 94 years (mean age, 64 ± 13 yr) and ranged in New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class from II through IV. The mean follow-up period was 38 ± 15 months, the mean age was 64 ± 13 years, and the mean left ventricular ejection fraction was 0.27 ±0.11. By the end of the study, both sexes had similar cardiovascular mortality rates (36% men vs 37% women, P=0.559). In Cox regression analysis, NYHA functional class, triglyceride level, and history of coronary artery disease were independent predictors of cardiovascular death for women with chronic heart failure. For men with chronic heart failure, the patient's age, ejection fraction, and sodium level were independent predictors of cardiovascular death. In a modern tertiary referral heart failure clinic, decreased triglyceride levels were, upon univariate analysis, predictors of poor outcomes for both men and women. However, upon Cox regression analysis, reduced triglyceride levels were independent predictors of cardiac death only in women.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Cardiology (Drs. Akay, Celikyurt, Emre, Ertas, Karauzum, Kozdag, Sahin, Ural, and Yilmaz) and Nuclear Medicine (Dr. Gorur), Faculty of Medicine, Kocaeli University, 41300 Kocaeli, Turkey; and Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine (Dr. Sarsekeyeva), Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida 33431.
authors.forename: Guliz
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kozdag
authors.affiliation: Departments of Cardiology (Drs. Akay, Celikyurt, Emre, Ertas, Karauzum, Kozdag, Sahin, Ural, and Yilmaz) and Nuclear Medicine (Dr. Gorur), Faculty of Medicine, Kocaeli University, 41300 Kocaeli, Turkey; and Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine (Dr. Sarsekeyeva), Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida 33431.
authors.forename: Gokhan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ertas
authors.affiliation: Departments of Cardiology (Drs. Akay, Celikyurt, Emre, Ertas, Karauzum, Kozdag, Sahin, Ural, and Yilmaz) and Nuclear Medicine (Dr. Gorur), Faculty of Medicine, Kocaeli University, 41300 Kocaeli, Turkey; and Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine (Dr. Sarsekeyeva), Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida 33431.
authors.forename: Ender
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Emre
authors.affiliation: Departments of Cardiology (Drs. Akay, Celikyurt, Emre, Ertas, Karauzum, Kozdag, Sahin, Ural, and Yilmaz) and Nuclear Medicine (Dr. Gorur), Faculty of Medicine, Kocaeli University, 41300 Kocaeli, Turkey; and Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine (Dr. Sarsekeyeva), Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida 33431.
authors.forename: Yasar
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Akay
authors.affiliation: Departments of Cardiology (Drs. Akay, Celikyurt, Emre, Ertas, Karauzum, Kozdag, Sahin, Ural, and Yilmaz) and Nuclear Medicine (Dr. Gorur), Faculty of Medicine, Kocaeli University, 41300 Kocaeli, Turkey; and Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine (Dr. Sarsekeyeva), Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida 33431.
authors.forename: Umut
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Celikyurt
authors.affiliation: Departments of Cardiology (Drs. Akay, Celikyurt, Emre, Ertas, Karauzum, Kozdag, Sahin, Ural, and Yilmaz) and Nuclear Medicine (Dr. Gorur), Faculty of Medicine, Kocaeli University, 41300 Kocaeli, Turkey; and Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine (Dr. Sarsekeyeva), Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida 33431.
authors.forename: Tayfun
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sahin
authors.affiliation: Departments of Cardiology (Drs. Akay, Celikyurt, Emre, Ertas, Karauzum, Kozdag, Sahin, Ural, and Yilmaz) and Nuclear Medicine (Dr. Gorur), Faculty of Medicine, Kocaeli University, 41300 Kocaeli, Turkey; and Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine (Dr. Sarsekeyeva), Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida 33431.
authors.forename: Gozde
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gorur
authors.affiliation: Departments of Cardiology (Drs. Akay, Celikyurt, Emre, Ertas, Karauzum, Kozdag, Sahin, Ural, and Yilmaz) and Nuclear Medicine (Dr. Gorur), Faculty of Medicine, Kocaeli University, 41300 Kocaeli, Turkey; and Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine (Dr. Sarsekeyeva), Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida 33431.
authors.forename: Kurtulus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Karauzum
authors.affiliation: Departments of Cardiology (Drs. Akay, Celikyurt, Emre, Ertas, Karauzum, Kozdag, Sahin, Ural, and Yilmaz) and Nuclear Medicine (Dr. Gorur), Faculty of Medicine, Kocaeli University, 41300 Kocaeli, Turkey; and Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine (Dr. Sarsekeyeva), Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida 33431.
authors.forename: Irem
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Yilmaz
authors.affiliation: Departments of Cardiology (Drs. Akay, Celikyurt, Emre, Ertas, Karauzum, Kozdag, Sahin, Ural, and Yilmaz) and Nuclear Medicine (Dr. Gorur), Faculty of Medicine, Kocaeli University, 41300 Kocaeli, Turkey; and Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine (Dr. Sarsekeyeva), Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida 33431.
authors.forename: Dilek
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ural
authors.affiliation: Departments of Cardiology (Drs. Akay, Celikyurt, Emre, Ertas, Karauzum, Kozdag, Sahin, Ural, and Yilmaz) and Nuclear Medicine (Dr. Gorur), Faculty of Medicine, Kocaeli University, 41300 Kocaeli, Turkey; and Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine (Dr. Sarsekeyeva), Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida 33431.
authors.forename: Mira
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sarsekeyeva
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D016757:Death, Sudden, Cardiac / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000401:mortality; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D012307:Risk Factors; D015996:Survival Rate / Q000639:trends; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D014280:Triglycerides
keywords: Cachexia/blood; chronic disease; female; follow-up studies; heart failure/mortality; male; predictive value of tests; prognosis; risk assessment; sex factors; survival analysis; triglycerides/blood; univariate analysis