• AIMS: 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. METHODS AND 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. CONCLUSION: 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.

Nyckelord

Autonomic Nervous System Diseases/metabolism/*mortality

Chronic Disease

Disease-Free Survival

Female

Heart Failure

Congestive/metabolism/*mortality/surgery

Heart Transplantation/*mortality

Humans

Kidney/*innervation/metabolism

Long-Term Care

Male

Middle Aged

Norepinephrine/*metabolism

Prognosis

Regression Analysis

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)