The impact of the stress hyperglycemia ratio on mortality and rehospitalization rate in patients with acute decompensated heart failure and diabetes

BACKGROUND: The relationship between stress hyperglycemia and long-term prognosis in acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) patients is unknown. This study investigated the associations of stress hyperglycemia with mortality and rehospitalization rates among ADHF patients with diabetes. METHODS: We consecutively enrolled 1904 ADHF patients. Among them, 780 were with diabetes. Stress hyperglycemia was estimated using the stress hyperglycemia ratio (SHR), which was calculated by the following formula: SHR = admission blood glucose/[(28.7 × HbA1c%) – 46.7]. All diabetic ADHF subjects were divided into quintiles according to the SHR. The primary endpoint was all-cause death at the 3-year follow-up. The secondary endpoints were cardiovascular (CV) death and heart failure (HF) rehospitalization at the 3-year follow-up. A Cox proportional hazards model and restricted cubic spline analysis were used to elucidate the relationship between the SHR and the endpoints in diabetic ADHF patients. Further analyses were performed to examine the relationships between SHR and the outcomes in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). RESULTS: A total of 169 all-cause deaths were recorded during a median follow-up of 3.24 years. Restricted cubic spline analysis suggested a U-shaped association between the SHR and the mortality and rehospitalization rates. Kaplan–Meier survival analysis showed the lowest mortality in the 2nd quintile (P = 0.0028). Patients categorized in the highest range (5th quintile) of SHR, compared to those in the 2nd quintile, exhibited the greatest susceptibility to all-cause death (with a hazard ratio [HR] of 2.76 and a 95% confidence interval [CI] of 1.63–4.68), CV death (HR 2.81 [95% CI 1.66–4.75]) and the highest rate of HF rehospitalization (HR 1.54 [95% CI 1.03–2.32]). Similarly, patients in the lowest range (1st quintile) of SHR also exhibited significantly increased risks of all-cause death (HR 2.33, 95% CI 1.35–4.02) and CV death (HR 2.32, 95% CI 1.35–4.00). Further analyses indicated that the U-shape association between the SHR and mortality remained significant in both HFpEF and HFrEF patients. CONCLUSION: Both elevated and reduced SHRs indicate an unfavorable long-term prognosis in patients with ADHF and diabetes. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12933-023-01908-2.