Clinical profile and prognostic value of low systolic blood pressure in patients hospitalized for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction: insights from the Efficacy of Vasopressin Antagonism in Heart Failure: Outcome Study with Tolvaptan (EVEREST) trial.

BACKGROUND: Systolic blood pressure (SBP) is related to the pathophysiologic development and progression of heart failure (HF) and is inversely associated with adverse outcomes during hospitalization for HF (HHF). The prognostic value of SBP after initiating inhospital therapy and the mode of death and etiology of cardiovascular readmissions based on SBP have not been well characterized in HHF.

METHODS: A post hoc analysis was performed of the placebo group (n = 2061) of the EVEREST trial, which enrolled patients within 48 hours of admission for worsening HF with an ejection fraction (EF) ≤40% and an SBP ≥90 mm Hg, for a median follow-up of 9.9 months. Systolic blood pressure was measured at baseline, daily during hospitalization, and at discharge/day 7. Patients were divided into the following quartiles by SBP at baseline: ≤105, 106 to 119, 120 to 130, and ≥131 mm Hg. Outcomes were all-cause mortality (ACM) and the composite of cardiovascular mortality or HHF (CVM + HHF). The associations between baseline, discharge, and inhospital change in SBP and ACM and CVM + HHF were assessed using multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models adjusted for known covariates.

RESULTS: Median (25th, 75th) SBP at baseline was 120 (105, 130) mm Hg and ranged from 82 to 202 mm Hg. Patients with a lower SBP were younger and more likely to be male; had a higher prevalence of prior revascularization and ventricular arrhythmias; had a lower EF, worse renal function, higher natriuretic peptide concentrations, and wider QRS durations; and were more likely to require intravenous inotropes during hospitalization. Lower SBP was associated with increased mortality, driven by HF and sudden cardiac death, and cardiovascular hospitalization, primarily caused by HHF. After adjusting for potential confounders, SBP was inversely associated with risk of the coprimary end points both at baseline (ACM: hazard ratio [HR]/10-mm Hg decrease 1.15, 95% CI1.08-1.22; CVM + HHF: HR 1.09/10-mm Hg decrease, 95% CI 1.04-1.14) and at the time of discharge/day 7 (ACM: HR 1.15/10-mm Hg decrease, 95% CI 1.08-1.22; CVM + HHF: HR 1.07/10-mm Hg decrease, 95% CI 1.02-1.13), but the association with inhospital SBP change was not significant.

CONCLUSION: Systolic blood pressure is an independent clinical predictor of morbidity and mortality after initial therapy during HHF with reduced EF.