Study Indicates Lymphocyte Count Predicts Death in Heart Failure
After an an average 4.7 years of follow-up, the lymphocyte count was  the second most prominent predictor of death, following New York Heart  Association class, according to Gideon Charach, MD, of the Tel Aviv  Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv, and colleagues.
And it was more significant than left ventricular ejection fraction, Charach and colleagues reported online in the American Journal of Cardiology .
For analysis, the cohort was stratified according to median  lymphocyte count (above or below 1,600 per milliliter), heart  association class (I and II versus III or IV), and median ejection  fraction (above or below 40%).
On average, the total lymphocyte count was 1,803.64, and the left ventricular ejection fraction was 37%.
Lymphocyte count below 1,600 was associated with a greater risk of death and hospital admission, at P =0.012 and P =0.024, respectively.
Lymphocyte  count greater than the median was associated with a 24% reduction in  the risk of death (HR 0.76, 95% CI 0.37 to 0.97, P =0.037).
Heart  association class III or IV was associated with a doubling of the risk  of death, compared with class I and II (HR 2.26, 95% CI 1.48 to 2.38, P <0.0001).
Left  ventricular ejection fraction of 40% or more was associated with a 40%  reduction in the risk of death (HR 0.06, 95% CI 0.04 to 0.092, P =0.0138).
Patients in heart association class I and II, but with a lymphocyte  count below the median, had a poorer survival rate than those with more  severe disease but a lymphocyte count of 1,600 or higher, a Cox  regression analysis showed.
Share on X (Opens in new window) X
Share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest