Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Mar;23(3):406-416.
doi: 10.1002/ejhf.2047. Epub 2020 Nov 26.

Ejection fraction and mortality: a nationwide register-based cohort study of 499 153 women and men

Simon Stewart  1 , David Playford  2 , Gregory M Scalia  3 , Philip Currie  4 , David S Celermajer  5 , David Prior  6 , Jim Codde  2 , Geoff Strange  2 ; NEDA Investigators
Affiliations
Free article

Ejection fraction and mortality: a nationwide register-based cohort study of 499 153 women and men

Simon Stewart et al. Eur J Heart Fail. 2021 Mar.
Free article

Abstract

Aims: We investigated the sex-based risk of mortality across the spectrum of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in a large cohort of patients in Australia.

Methods and results: Quantified levels of LVEF from 237 046 women (48.1%) and 256 109 men undergoing first-time, routine echocardiography (2000-2019) were linked to 119 232 deaths (median 5.6 years of follow-up). Overall, 17.6% of men vs. 8.3% of women had an LVEF <50%. An LVEF <40% was associated with the highest crude cardiovascular-related and all-cause mortality at 5 years (∼20-30% and ∼ 40-50%, respectively). Thereafter, actual cardiovascular-related and all-cause mortality at 5 years in both sexes steeply improved to a nadir LVEF of 65.0-69.9% (reference group). Below this LVEF level, the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for cardiovascular-related mortality for a LVEF of 55.0-59.9% was 1.36 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.16-1.59; P < 0.001] in women and 1.21 (95% CI 1.05-1.39; P = 0.008) in men. In women, an LVEF of 60.0-64.9% was also associated with a HR 1.33 (95% CI 1.16-1.52; P < 0.001) for cardiovascular-related mortality. These associations were most striking in women and men aged <65 years and were replicated in those with suspected heart failure (32 403 cases aged 65.2 ± 16.1 years, 57.0% women). For pre-existing heart failure (33 738 cases aged 67.6 ± 16.9 years, 46.5% women), the specific threshold of increased mortality was at and below 50.0-54.9%.

Conclusions: Among patients investigated for suspected or established cardiovascular disease, we found clinically relevant sex-based differences in the distribution and mortality associated with an LVEF <65.0-69.9%. Specifically, they suggest a greater risk of mortality at higher LVEF levels among women.

Keywords: Cardiac function; Left ventricular ejection fraction; Mortality; Outcomes; Sex-specific.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

References

    1. Celutkiene J, Spoletini I, Coats AJ, Chioncel O. Left ventricular function monitoring in heart failure. Eur Heart J Suppl 2019;21:M17-M19.
    1. Lang RM, Badano LP, Mor-Avi V, Afilalo J, Armstrong A, Ernande L, Flachskampf FA, Foster E, Goldstein SA, Kuznetsova T, Lancellotti P, Muraru D, Picard MH, Rietzschel ER, Rudski L, Spencer KT, Tsang W, Voigt JU. Recommendations for cardiac chamber quantification by echocardiography in adults: an update from the American Society of Echocardiography and the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging. Eur Heart J Cardiovasc Imaging 2015;16:233-270.
    1. Ponikowski P, Voors AA, Anker SD, Bueno H, Cleland JG, Coats AJ, Falk V, Gonzalez-Juanatey JR, Harjola VP, Jankowska EA, Jessup M, Linde C, Nihoyannopoulos P, Parissis JT, Pieske B, Riley JP, Rosano GM, Ruilope LM, Ruschitzka F, Rutten FH, van der Meer P. 2016 ESC Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic heart failure: the Task Force for the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic heart failure of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). Developed with the special contribution of the Heart Failure Association (HFA) of the ESC. Eur J Heart Fail 2016;18:891-975.
    1. Taylor CJ, Ordonez-Mena JM, Roalfe AK, Lay-Flurrie S, Jones NR, Marshall T, Hobbs FD. Trends in survival after a diagnosis of heart failure in the United Kingdom 2000-2017: population based cohort study. BMJ 2019;364:l223.
    1. Stewart S, Ekman I, Ekman T, Oden A, Rosengren A. Population impact of heart failure and the most common forms of cancer: a study of 1 162 309 hospital cases in Sweden (1988 to 2004). Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes 2010;3:573-580.

Publication types