Association of subclinical heart maladaptation with the pooled cohort equations to prevent heart failure risk score for incident heart failure

Abstract

IMPORTANCE The Pooled Cohort Equations to Prevent Heart Failure (PCP-HF) estimate the 10-year risk for symptomatic heart failure (HF) from routine clinical data. The PCP-HF score should detect asymptomatic individuals with cardiac maladaptation preceding HF symptoms for it to be a useful HF prediction tool in primary prevention. OBJECTIVE To assess the concordance between PCP-HF risk scoring and the presence of subclinical cardiac maladaptation in the community. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This cross-sectional analysis included participants enrolled in the Flemish Study on Environment, Genes and Health Outcomes who underwent a clinical examination including echocardiography between May 2005 and January 2015. Participants younger than 30 years, older than 79 years, had prevalent cardiovascular disease, and/or had suboptimal echocardiographic imaging quality were excluded. Analysis began February 2020 and ended April 2020. EXPOSURES Ten-year HF risk as calculated from routine clinical data using the PCP-HF. Based on tertile limits, participants were categorized as having low (<0.4%), intermediate (0.4%-2.4%), and high (>2.4%) 10-year HF risk score. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Echocardiographic profiles of subclinical heart remodeling and dysfunction. RESULTS A total of 1020 individuals were analyzed (mean [SD] age, 52.8 [11.4] years; 541 female [53.0%]). The prevalence of left ventricular (LV) remodeling and dysfunction was significantly higher from low to intermediate and high 10-year HF risk score. A doubling in 10-year HF risk score was associated with higher odds for LV concentric remodeling (odds ratio [OR], 1.48; 95% CI, 1.36-1.61; P < .001), LV hypertrophy (OR, 1.66; 95% CI, 1.51-1.83; P < .001), abnormal LV longitudinal strain (OR, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.05-1.19; P < .001), and LV diastolic dysfunction (OR, 2.28; 95% CI, 1.94-2.69; P < .001). Moreover, the PCP-HF score detected echocardiographic abnormalities with an accuracy of 74% (LV concentric remodeling), 78% (LV hypertrophy), 59% (abnormal LV longitudinal strain), and 87% (LV diastolic dysfunction). The likelihood of LV concentric remodeling, hypertrophy, and diastolic dysfunction were 3.1, 3.8, and 9.4 times higher in participants with high 10-year HF risk score than the average population risk, respectively (P < .001). Of all PCP-HF score components, age, body mass index, and systolic blood pressure were key correlates of echocardiographic abnormalities in multivariable-adjusted analysis. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE PCP-HF risk scoring adequately detected individuals with subclinical heart maladaptation that precedes HF symptoms by years. Thus, it may be a valuable HF prediction tool in primary prevention.