Serial versus isolated assessment of clinical and instrumental parameters in heart failure: prognostic and therapeutic implications.

Background: In heart failure (HF), it is not known whether analysis of serial changes in prognostic parameters provides incremental information with respect to comprehensive isolated clinical and instrumental assessments.

Methods: We analyzed time-related changes in a period > or =6 months in a broad panel of clinical and instrumental (electrocardiographic, echocardiographic, hemodynamic, and cardiopulmonary) parameters in 105 patients with HF (age, 53 +/- 10 years; 88% men; 55% New York Heart Association classification III-IV; EF, 24% +/- 6%).

Results: Among the time-related parameters, QRS widening (adjusted RR per 10 ms, 1.