Statin therapy blunts inflammatory activation and improves prognosis and left ventricular performance assessed by Tissue Doppler Imaging in subjects with chronic ischemic heart failure: results from the Daunia Heart Failure Registry

BACKGROUND: A limited number of studies have used Tissue Doppler Imaging (TDI) to evaluate the effect of statin therapy on left ventricular dysfunction in patients with chronic heart failure. In this work, we aimed to determine whether statin administration influenced prognosis, inflammatory activation and myocardial performance evaluated by Tissue Doppler Imaging in subjects enrolled in the Daunia Heart Failure Registry, a local registry of patients with chronic heart failure. METHODS: This study retrospectively analyzed 353 consecutive outpatients with chronic heart failure (mean follow-up 384 days), based on whether statin therapy was used. In all patients, several Tissue Doppler Imaging parameters were measured; circulating levels of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-10 and C-reactive protein were also assayed. RESULTS: Statin administration in 128 subjects with ischemic heart disease was associated with a lower incidence of adverse events (rehospitalization for HF 15% vs. 46%, p<0.001; ventricular arrhythmias 5% vs. 21%, p<0.01; cardiac death 1% vs. 8%, p<0.05), lower circulating levels of IL-6 (p<0.05) and IL-10 (p<0.01), lower rates of chronic heart failure (p<0.001) and better Tissue Doppler Imaging performance (E/E' ratio 12.82±5.42 vs. 19.85±9.14, p<0.001; ET: 260.62±44.16 vs. 227.11±37.58 ms, p<0.05; TP: 176.79±49.93 vs. 136.7±37.78 ms, p<0.05 and St: 352.35±43.17 vs. 310.67±66.46±37.78 ms, p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Chronic ischemic heart failure outpatients undergoing statin treatment had fewer readmissions for adverse events, blunted inflammatory activation and improved left ventricular performance assessed by Tissue Doppler Imaging.