title: Assessing the Risk of Progression From Asymptomatic Left Ventricular Dysfunction to Overt Heart Failure: A Systematic Overview and Meta-Analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study sought to provide estimates of the risk of progression to overt heart failure (HF) from systolic or diastolic asymptomatic left ventricular dysfunction through a systematic review and meta-analysis.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Precise population-based estimates on the progression from asymptomatic left ventricular dysfunction (or stage B HF) to clinical HF (stage C HF) remain limited, despite its prognostic and clinical implications. Pre-emptive intervention with neurohormonal modulation may attenuate disease progression.
  
  
  METHODS
  MEDLINE and EMBASE were systematically searched (until March 2015). Cohort studies reporting on the progression from asymptomatic left ventricular systolic dysfunction (ALVSD) or asymptomatic left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (ALVDD) to overt HF were included. Effect estimates (prevalence, incidence, and relative risk) were pooled using a random-effects model meta-analysis, separately for systolic and diastolic dysfunction, with heterogeneity assessed with the I(2) statistic.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirteen reports based on 11 distinct studies of progression of ALVSD were included in the meta-analysis assessing a total of 25,369 participants followed for 7.9 years on average. The absolute risks of progression to HF were 8.4 per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval [CI]: 4.0 to 12.8 per 100 person-years) for those with ALVSD, 2.8 per 100 person-years (95% CI: 1.9 to 3.7 per 100 person-years) for those with ALVDD, and 1.04 per 100 person-years (95% CI: 0.0 to 2.2 per 100 person-years) without any ventricular dysfunction evident. The combined maximally adjusted relative risk of HF for ALVSD was 4.6 (95% CI: 2.2 to 9.8), and that of ALVDD was 1.7 (95% CI: 1.3 to 2.2).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  ALVSD and ALVDD are each associated with a substantial risk for incident HF indicating an imperative to develop effective intervention at these stages.
authors.affiliation: Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia. Electronic address: jechouffotcheugui@partners.org.
authors.forename: Justin B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Echouffo-Tcheugui
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Division, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Sebhat
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Erqou
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Division, Department of Medicine, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York.
authors.forename: Javed
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Butler
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Division, Department of Medicine, Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois.
authors.forename: Clyde W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Yancy
authors.affiliation: Ahmanson-UCLA Cardiomyopathy Center, Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Ronald Reagan-UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, California.
authors.forename: Gregg C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Fonarow
mesh_terms: D058070:Asymptomatic Diseases; D003971:Diastole; D018450:Disease Progression; D014943:Global Health; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D009017:Morbidity; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D015996:Survival Rate / Q000639:trends; D013599:Systole; D018487:Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D016276:Ventricular Function / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: asymptomatic; diastolic dysfunction; heart failure; systolic dysfunction; ventricular dysfunction