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Aims Methods and results Conclusions We investigated the prevalence, clinical characteristics, and prognosis of patients with heart failure (HF) with improved ejection fraction (HFimpEF).We used data from BIOSTAT‐CHF including patients with a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≤40% at baseline who had LVEF re‐assessed at 9 months. HFimpEF was defined as a LVEF >40% and a LVEF ≥10% increase from baseline at 9 months. We validated findings in the ASIAN‐HF registry. The primary outcome was a composite of time to HF rehospitalization or all‐cause mortality. In BIOSTAT‐CHF, about 20% of patients developed HFimpEF, that was associated with a lower primary event rate of all‐cause mortality (hazard ratio [HR] 0.52, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.28–0.97, p = 0.040) and the composite endpoint (HR 0.46, 95% CI 0.30–0.70, p < 0.001) compared with patients who remained in persistent HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). The findings were similar in the ASIAN‐HF (HR 0.40, 95% CI 0.18–0.89, p = 0.024, and HR 0.29, 95% CI 0.17–0.48, p < 0.001). Five independently common predictors for HFimpEF in both BIOSTAT‐CHF and ASIAN‐HF were female sex, absence of ischaemic heart disease, higher LVEF, smaller left ventricular end‐diastolic and end‐systolic diameter at baseline. A predictive model combining only five predictors (absence of ischaemic heart disease and left bundle branch block, smaller left ventricular end‐systolic and left atrial diameter, and higher platelet count) for HFimpEF in the BIOSTAT‐CHF achieved an area under the curve of 0.772 and 0.688 in the ASIAN‐HF (due to missing left atrial diameter and platelet count).Approximately 20–30% of patients with HFrEF improved to HFimpEF within 1 year with better clinical outcomes. In addition, the predictive model with clinical predictors could more accurately predict HFimpEF in patients with HFrEF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Although trials have proven the group‐level effectiveness of various therapies for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), important differences in absolute effectiveness exist between individuals. We developed and validated the LIFEtime‐perspective for Heart Failure (LIFE‐HF) model for the prediction of individual (lifetime) risk and treatment benefit in patients with HFrEF. Methods and results: Cox proportional hazards functions with age as the time scale were developed in the PARADIGM‐HF and ATMOSPHERE trials (n = 15 415). Outcomes were cardiovascular death, heart failure (HF) hospitalization or cardiovascular death, and non‐cardiovascular mortality. Predictors were age, sex, New York Heart Association class, prior HF hospitalization, diabetes mellitus, extracardiac vascular disease, systolic blood pressure, left ventricular ejection fraction, N‐terminal pro‐B‐type natriuretic peptide, and glomerular filtration rate. The functions were combined in life‐tables to predict individual overall and HF hospitalization‐free survival. External validation was performed in the SwedeHF registry, ASIAN‐HF registry, and DAPA‐HF trial (n = 51 286). Calibration of 2‐ to 10‐year risk was adequate, and c‐statistics were 0.65–0.74. An interactive tool was developed combining the model with hazard ratios from trials to allow estimation of an individual's (lifetime) risk and treatment benefit in clinical practice. Applying the tool to the development cohort, combined treatment with a mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist, sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor, and angiotensin receptor–neprilysin inhibitor was estimated to afford a median of 2.5 (interquartile range [IQR] 1.7–3.7) and 3.7 (IQR 2.4–5.5) additional years of overall and HF hospitalization‐free survival, respectively. Conclusion: The LIFE‐HF model enables estimation of lifelong overall and HF hospitalization‐free survival, and (lifetime) treatment benefit for individual patients with HFrEF. It could serve as a tool to improve the management of HFrEF by facilitating personalized medicine and shared decision‐making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To examine sex differences in clinical characteristics, echocardiographic features, quality of life and 1-year death or heart failure (HF) hospitalization outcomes in patients with/without diabetes mellitus (DM).Methods and Results: Utilizing the Asian Sudden Cardiac Death in HF (ASIAN-HF) registry, 5255 patients (mean age 59.6 ± 13.1, 78% men) with symptomatic HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) were stratified by DM status to address the research aims. Despite similar prevalence of DM between Asian men (43%) and women (42%), the odds of DM increased at lower body mass index in women vs. men (≥ 23 vs. ≥ 27.5 kg/m2 , Pinteraction  = 0.014). DM was more strongly related to chronic kidney disease in women vs. men [adjusted odds ratio (OR) 1.85, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.33-2.57 vs. OR 1.32, 95% CI 1.11-1.56, Pinteraction  = 0.009]. Sex also modified the relationship between DM and left ventricular geometry (Pinteraction  = 0.003), whereby DM was associated with a more concentric left ventricular geometry in women than men. Women had lower quality of life than men (P < 0.001), in both DM and non-DM groups. DM was associated with worse composite outcomes at 1 year in women vs. men [hazard ratio (HR) 1.79, 95% CI 1.24-2.60 vs. HR 1.32, 95% CI 1.12-1.56; Pinteraction  = 0.005).Conclusions: Asian women with HFrEF were more likely to have DM despite a lean body mass index, a greater burden of chronic kidney disease and more concentric left ventricular geometry, compared to men. Furthermore, DM confers worse quality of life, irrespective of sex, and a greater risk of adverse outcomes in women than men. These data underscore the need for sex-specific approaches to diabetes in patients with HF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is a global public health problem. Unfortunately, little is known about HFpEF across Asia.Methods and Results: We prospectively studied clinical characteristics, echocardiographic parameters and outcomes in 1204 patients with HFpEF (left ventricular ejection fraction ≥50%) from 11 Asian regions, grouped as Northeast Asia (Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Japan, Korea, n = 543), South Asia (India, n = 252), and Southeast Asia (Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, n = 409). Mean age was 68 ±12 years (37% were < 65 years) and 50% were women. Seventy per cent of patients had ≥2 co-morbidities, most commonly hypertension (71%), followed by anaemia (57%), chronic kidney disease (50%), diabetes (45%), coronary artery disease (29%), atrial fibrillation (29%) and obesity (26%). Southeast Asian patients had the highest prevalence of all co-morbidities except atrial fibrillation, South Asians had the lowest prevalence of all co-morbidities except anaemia and obesity, and Northeast Asians had more atrial fibrillation. Left ventricular hypertrophy and concentric remodelling were most prominent among Southeast and South Asians, respectively (P < 0.001). Overall, 12.1% of patients died or were hospitalized for heart failure within 1 year. Southeast Asians were at higher risk for adverse outcomes, independent of co-morbidity burden and cardiac geometry.Conclusion: These first prospective multinational data from Asia show that HFpEF affects relatively young patients with a high burden of co-morbidities. Regional differences in types of co-morbidities, cardiac remodelling and outcomes of HFpEF across Asia have important implications for public health measures and global HFpEF trial design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To describe differences in patient characteristics and outcomes by ethnicity in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) and heart failure (HF) with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF, ejection fraction ≤35%) in a multi-ethnic cohort.Methods and Results: Patient level data from two cohorts (HF-ACTION and ASIAN-HF) were combined, and patients grouped by self-reported ethnicity. DM was defined as the presence of a clinical diagnosis and/or receiving anti-diabetic therapy. A total of 6214 (1324 whites, 674 blacks, 1297 Chinese, 1510 Indians, 717 Malays, 692 Japanese/Koreans) patients were included. The overall prevalence of DM was 39.5% (n = 2454). The prevalence of DM was lowest in whites (29.3%), followed by Japanese/Koreans (34.1%), blacks (35.9%), Chinese (42.3%), Indians (44.2%), and highest in Malays (51.9%). The correlation between age, sex, body mass index, coronary artery disease, hypertension, atrial fibrillation, peripheral vascular disease and chronic kidney disease with DM differed significantly by ethnicity (P for interaction <0.05). The strongest correlations were seen in Malay women, whites with obesity, Indians with coronary artery disease and hypertension, and blacks with chronic kidney disease. On multivariable analyses, DM was significantly associated with the composite of 1-year overall mortality/HF hospitalization (hazard ratio 1.37, 95% confidence interval 1.19-1.57; P < 0.001), with no interaction by ethnicity (P for interaction =0.31).Conclusions: There is marked heterogeneity in the prevalence and correlates of DM among different ethnic groups with HF worldwide. Subgroups particularly predisposed to DM warrant special attention, since DM increases the combined risk of morbidity and mortality in all ethnicities with HF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]