Inflammatory biomarkers are not predictive of intermediate-term risk of ventricular tachyarrhythmias in stable CHF patients

Background: Elevated levels of inflammatory biomarkers and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) are associated with increased mortality in patients with heart failure (HF). Hypothesis: The aim of the current study was to assess the correlation between circulating biomarkers and ventricular tachyarrhythmias among patients with HF. Methods: Blood samples from 50 stable ambulatory HF patients with moderate to severe systolic left ventricular (LV) dysfunction and an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) were analyzed for interleukin 6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and BNP. Thereafter, the patients were followed for a mean period of 152 ± 44 days, during which ventricular tachyarrhythmias were recorded by the ICDs. Results: Follow-up data were obtained from 47 patients. Of them, 45 (96%) had ischemic cardiomyopathy, 38 (81%) had New York Heart Association class I-II, 43 (91%) were males, and the mean age was 68.6 ± 11.1 years. During follow-up, 5 patients (11%) had nonsustained ventricular tachycardia (NSVT), 6 patients (13%) had sustained ventricular tachycardia (VT) or ventricular fibrillation (VF) and 36 patients (76%) had no events. The circulating biomarkers' levels upon enrollment were not significantly different between patients who subsequently had NSVT or VT/VF and patients who were free of events. Conclusions: No correlation was found between plasma levels of IL-6, TNF-α, hsCRP and BNP and ventricular arrhythmic events among stable HF patients during an intermediate term follow-up of 5.1 months. Further studies are still required to assess the association between these biomarkers and long-term risk of ventricular tachyarrhythmia.