Correlation of aortic root dimensions and mortality in acute heart failure: A nationwide prospective cohort study.

Background: An association between increased aortic root dimensions (ARD) and elevated risk of cardiovascular mortality has been reported in the general population. However, evidence regarding the association between ARD and mortality in patients with acute heart failure (AHF) is limited.

Methods: In a nationwide prospective cohort of the China Patient-Centered Evaluative Assessment of Cardiac Events Prospective Heart Failure Study, ARD was measured during diastole using echocardiography and indexed to body mass index (BMI). Cox proportional hazard models were used to validate the association between BMI-indexed ARD and mortality. Additionally, the relationship between BMI-indexed ARD and mortality was presented using restricted cubic spline in all populations, and both sexes.

Results: A total of 2125 participants with ARD were included in the final analysis, among of 38.4 % were women, with a median age of 67 years. Over a median follow-up period of 54.4 (interquartile range: 30.1 to 59.7) months, 895 deaths occurred, with 750 attributed to cardiovascular causes and 145 to non-cardiovascular causes. Compared to the highest tertile group of BMI-indexed ARD, the lowest tertile group had a lower risk of cardiovascular mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 0.71; 95 % confidence interval [CI], 0.58 to 0.87;  < 0.001) and all-cause mortality (HR, 0.68; 95 % CI, 0.56 to 0.81;  < 0.001). Similarly, the middle tertile group also had a lower risk of cardiovascular mortality (HR, 0.78; 95 % CI, 0.65 to 0.93;  = 0.007) and all-cause mortality (HR, 0.75; 95 % CI, 0.63 to 0.89;  < 0.001). Considering the competing risks, the lowest BMI-indexed ARD groups showed a significant mortality risk of cardiovascular mortality in all populations, and both sexes. Moreover, the relationship between BMI-indexed ARD and mortality was linear in males, while a "J" shaped relationship was observed in females.

Conclusion: Lower BMI-indexed ARD was associated with a decreased risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality than those with higher BMI-indexed ARD in AHF. Additionally, a discrepancy was observed between the sexes in the relationship between BMI-indexed ARD and mortality. These findings contribute to the prompt identification of potential mortality risks in patients with AHF.