%0 Journal Article
%T Casting Light on Early Heart Failure: Unveiling the Prognostic Potential of the E/(e' × s') Index.
%A Ionac I
%A Lazar MA
%A Hoinoiu T
%A Crisan S
%A Pescariu SA
%A Dima CN
%A Luca CT
%A Mornos C
%J Diagnostics (Basel)
%V 14
%N 4
%D 2024 Feb 13
%M 38396448
%F 3.992
%R 10.3390/diagnostics14040409
%X It has been shown that patients with NYHA class I and II have a high morbidity and mortality burden. We investigated the value of a new tissue Doppler index, E/(e' × s'), to predict cardiac events in the long-term follow-up of patients at an early stage of heart failure (HF). Sequential echocardiography was conducted on a consecutive cohort of 212 hospitalized HF patients, pre-discharged and with three-month follow-up. The primary end point consisted of cardiac death or readmission due to HF worsening. During follow-up, cardiac events occurred in 99 patients (46.7%). The first cardiac event was represented by cardiac death in 8 patients (3.8%) and readmission for HF in 91 patients (42.9%). A Kaplan-Meier analysis did not show a significantly different event-free survival rate between patients with NYHA class I and II. The composite end point was significantly higher in patients with an E/(e' × s') >1.6. The E/(e' × s') at discharge was the best independent predictor of cardiac events. Those exhibiting an E/(e' × s') > 1.6 at discharge, with a subsequent deterioration after three months, displayed the poorest prognosis concerning cardiac events, HF-related rehospitalization, and cardiac mortality (all p < 0.05). In early-stage HF patients, an E/(e' × s') > 1.6 emerged as a robust predictor of clinical outcomes, especially when coupled with a deterioration in condition.