Association of serum levels of heart failure biomarkers and quality of life in patients with arterial hypertension and atrial fibrillation

Abstract

Annotation. The article presents the results of the study of the relationship between the quality of life of patients with arterial hypertension (AH) and atrial fibrillation (AF) with serum levels of the N-terminal fragment of brain natriuretic propeptide (NT-proBNP) and the suppressor of tumorigenicity 2 (ST2). As part of an open observational randomized comparative study, 89 patients with stage II AH and various clinical forms of AF were examined. All patients underwent a general clinical examination, additional determination of levels of serum NT-proBNP and ST2 biomarkers, and assessment of quality of life according to the SF-36 and MLHFQ questionnaires on the 2-3 day stay in the hospital against the background of selection of optimal therapy. Statistical analysis was performed using Microsoft Excel (2016) and Statistica 12.0 (Statsoft, USA). The average value of the indicator, standard deviation was determined using one-way ANOVA & LSD test, Spearman's rank correlation analysis was used. According to the results of the study, there was a certain association of deterioration of the quality of life of patients with AH and AF with an increase in levels of serum NT-proBNP and ST2. It was demonstrated that a relatively high level of serum NT-proBNP was associated with impaired role functioning, determined by physical and emotional state according to the SF-36 scale, and impaired quality of life according to the MLHFQ. In addition, there was a direct correlation (R=0.41; p<0.0001) between actual levels of serum NT-proBNP and the total MLHFQ score. A relatively high level of serum ST2 was associated with a significant decrease in physical functioning, vitality, social functioning, role functioning due to emotional state, physical and mental health components, and an increase in pain intensity according to the SF-36, as well as a significant deterioration of the quality of life according to the MLHFQ. In addition, there was an inverse correlation (R=-0.36, p<0.0001) between actual levels of serum ST2 and the value of the physical component of health according to the SF-36 and a positive relationship (R=0.48, p<0.0001) with the value of the total score according to the MLHFQ.