Abstract 15519: The Prognostic Impact of Transcardiac Gradient of Follistatin-like 1 in Patients With Non-ischemic Dilated Cardiomyopathy

Abstract

Introduction: Follistatin-like 1 (FSTL1) is secreted from various tissues including myocardium and could play a cardioprotective role against harmful stimuli. It has been shown that the expression of FSTL1 protein in patients with heart failure is higher than that in healthy subjects. However, little is known about the association between serum FSTL1 levels and the cardiac prognosis. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that the transcardiac gradient of FSTL1 reflect myocardial FSTL1 and is useful for predicting prognosis in patients with non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (NIDCM). Methods: Thirty-two NIDCM patients were enrolled. Blood samples were simultaneously collected from the aortic root (Ao), coronary sinus (CS) as well as peripheral vein during cardiac catheterization. The transcardiac gradient of FSTL1 was calculated by the difference between serum FSTL1 levels of CS and Ao (FSTL1 CS-Ao ). Patients were divided into two groups at the median of FSTL1 CS-Ao : Low FSTL1 CS-Ao group, <0 ng/mL; High- FSTL1 CS-Ao group, > 0 ng/mL. The primary endpoint of this study was the occurrence of a cardiac event, which was defined as a composite of cardiac deaths and unexpected hospitalizations for worsening heart failure. Results: The median plasma B type natriuretic levels and mean left ventricular ejection fraction in the Low and High FSTL1 CS-Ao groups were 91.9 (21.7 - 277.5) vs. 94.1 (59.1 - 236.5) pg/mL (P = 1.000) and 31.4 ± 6.5 vs. 30.5 ± 7.3 % (P = 0.714), respectively. FSTL1 CS-Ao was negatively correlated with pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (R = -0.400, P = 0.023), mean pulmonary artery pressure (R = -0.40, P = 0.023) and right atrial pressure (R = -0.41, P = 0.019). Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that event-free survival rate was significantly lower in the Low FSTL1 CS-Ao group (p=0.0126). Conclusions: Transcardiac gradient of FSTL1 is associated with hemodynamics and low transcardiac gradient of FSTL1 might be associated with poor prognosis in NIDCM patients.