Infection-Related Hospitalization and Incident Heart Failure: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study.

Background: The immune response to infections may become dysregulated and promote myocardial damage contributing to heart failure (HF). We examined the relationship between infection-related hospitalization (IRH) and HF, HF with preserved ejection fraction, and HF with reduced ejection fraction.

Methods And Results: We studied 14 468 adults aged 45 to 64 years in the ARIC (Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities) Study who were HF free at visit 1 (1987-1989). IRH was identified using select () codes in hospital discharge records and was treated as a time-varying exposure. HF incidence was defined as the first occurrence of either a hospitalization that included an () discharge code of 428 (428.0-428.9) among the primary or secondary diagnoses or a death certificate with an code of 428 or an () code of I50 among any of the listed diagnoses or underlying causes of death. We used multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazards models to assess the association between IRH and incident HF, HF with reduced ejection fraction, and HF with preserved ejection fraction. Median follow-up time was 27 years, 55% were women, 26% were Black, mean age at baseline was 54±6 years, 46% had an IRH, and 3565 had incident HF. Hazard ratio (HR) for incident HF events among participants who had an IRH compared with those who did not was 2.35 (95% CI, 2.19-2.52). This relationship was consistent across different types of infections. Additionally, IRH was associated with both HF with reduced ejection fraction and HF with preserved ejection fraction: 1.77 (95% CI, 1.35-2.32) and 2.97 (95% CI, 2.36-3.75), respectively.

Conclusions: IRH was associated with incident HF, HF with reduced ejection fraction, and HF with preserved ejection fraction. IRH might represent a modifiable risk factor for HF pathophysiology.