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BACKGROUND:Heart failure (HF) is a clinical syndrome where diagnostic certainty varies. The prognosis of individuals with some clinical features of HF, but without the fully overt syndrome, is unclear. Therefore, we sought to evaluate their natural history. METHODS AND RESULTS:Between 1990 and 2009, all suspected HF cases in the Framingham Heart Study were adjudicated into 3 groups reflecting varying diagnostic certainty: definite (meeting HF diagnostic criteria; n = 479), possible (meeting HF criteria but with an alternative explanation for findings; n = 135), and probable (insufficient criteria for definite HF; n = 121) HF. Age-and-sex-matched individuals (n = 1112) without HF or cardiovascular disease (CVD) were controls. Using multivariable-adjusted Cox regression, we compared the possible/probable HF groups with controls regarding risk of incident definite HF, coronary heart disease (CHD), other CVD or death; and with definite HF regarding risk of latter three outcomes. During follow-up (mean 8.6 years), ~90% of individuals with possible, probable and definite HF experienced CVD events or died. Compared with controls, those with possible or probable HF experienced higher hazards for definite HF, CHD, other CVD and death (hazards ratios [HR] 1.35-9.31; p |
