Heart failure may develop with either reduced or preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), with each form accounting for approximately half of cases. \u00a0However, time-dependent changes in diastolic function have not been well investigated, and their relationship to clinical heart failure is not well understood.<\/p>\n
In this study Kane et al. report on the follow-up of 2042 patients randomly selected from the Olmsted County Heart Function Study (OCHFS), all of whom had undergone an initial assessment of diastolic dysfunction between 1997-2001. \u00a0After four years, participants attended for a second examination and then underwent clinical follow-up to ascertain new-onset heart failure cases until 2010. \u00a0The main outcome measure was the change in diastolic function grade and incident heart failure.<\/p>\n
Over the four years between the participants’ first and second clinical examination, diastolic dysfunction prevalence was seen to increase from 23.8% to 39.2% (p<0.001). \u00a0Diastolic function grade worsened in 23.4% and improved in 8.8%; worsened diastolic dysfunction was associated with being over 65 years of age (OR, 2.85). \u00a0During 6.3 years of clinical follow-up, heart failure occurred in 12.2% of patients whose diastolic dysfunction remained or progressed to moderate or severe dysfunction.<\/p>\n
Conclusions:<\/strong><\/p>\n This large population-based study suggests that the prevalence of diastolic dysfunction increases over time, and was associated with the development of heart failure during six years of subsequent follow-up.<\/p>\n