Mirror-like tongue is an important predictor of acute heart failure: a cohort study of acute heart failure in Chinese patients.

Objective: To reveal that mirror-like tongue, observed a noninvasive inspection, is a powerful indicator of the severity and prognosis of patients with acute heart failure (AHF).

Methods: This was an observational, prospective study. A total of 408 patients who met the inclusion criteria and were diagnosed with AHF for the first time at Taicang Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine from August 2019 to January 2021 were selected as the research subjects. According to their tongue fur, the patients were divided into group A (mirror-like tongue group) and group B (non-mirror-like tongue group). The clinical characteristics and incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) within 1 year of follow-up were systematically compared between the two groups.

Results: Sixty-five patients were included in group A, and 343 patients were included in group B. There were 32 males and 33 females in group A and 168 males and 175 females in group B. The average age of the overall population was 64 years old, and the average age of group A was significantly higher than that of group B (74 62 years, 0.001). Compared with that in group B, the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in group A was significantly lower (35% 42%, 0.001), and the log N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) level was significantly higher (4.0 3.4, 0.001). The proportion of the combined application of vasoactive drugs in group A was significantly higher than that in group B (64% 38%, 0.001). Group B had a higher proportion of coronary angiography (29.5% 16.9%, 0.038). Group A was more inclined to require mechanical ventilation than group B (33.9% 22.5%, 0.049). The length of hospital stay in group A was significantly longer than that in group B (13.1 7.6, 0.001). The incidence of MACEs, such as recurrence of AHF, new myocardial infarction and stroke, in group A within one year was higher than that in group B ( 0.007, 0.009, < 0.001). The incidence of cumulative MACEs in group A was significantly higher than that in group B [hazard ratio = 2.76, 95% confidence interval (1.73, 4.41), 0.001]. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses showed that mirror-like tongue, age, length of stay, LVEF and log NT-proBNP were independent predictors of MACEs in patients with AHF within one year.

Conclusions: Noninvasive tongue inspection technology can be used as a powerful tool for assessing the severity of illness and predicting prognosis in patients with AHF. A mirror-like tongue is an independent risk factor for MACEs in patients with AHF during the first year and has a combination effect with age, length of hospital stay, ejection fraction and NT-proBNP on the occurrence of MACEs.