| Contributors: |
Rossignol, P.; Lainscak, M.; Crespo-Leiro, M. G.; Laroche, C.; Piepoli, M. F.; Filippatos, G.; Rosano, G. M. C.; Savarese, G.; Anker, S. D.; Seferovic, P. M.; Ruschitzka, F.; Coats, A. J. S.; Mebazaa, A.; Mcdonagh, T.; Sahuquillo, A.; Penco, M.; Maggioni, A. P.; Lund, L. H.; Christopher Peter Gale, G. B.; Branko Beleslin, R. S.; Andrzej Budaj, P. L.; Ovidiu Chioncel, R. O.; Nikolaos Dagres, D. E.; Nicolas Danchin, F. R.; David Erlinge, S. E.; Jonathan Emberson, G. B.; Michael Glikson, I. L.; Alastair Gray, G. B.; Meral Kayikcioglu, T. R.; Aldo Maggioni, I. T.; Klaudia Vivien Nagy, H. U.; Aleksandr Nedoshivin, R. U.; Anna-Sonia Petronio, I. T.; Jolien Roos-Hesselink, N. L.; Lars Wallentin, S. E.; Uwe Zeymer, D. E.; Crespo-Leiro, M.; Anker, S.; Coats, A.; Ferrari, R.; Goda, A.; Diez, M.; Fernandez, A.; Fruhwald, F.; Fazlibegovic, E.; Gatzov, P.; Kurlianskaya, A.; Hullin, R.; Christodoulides, T.; Hradec, J.; Nielsen, O. W.; Nedjar, R.; Uuetoa, T.; Hassanein, M.; Jimenez, J. F. D.; Harjola, V. P.; Logeart, D.; Chumburidze, V.; Tousoulis, D.; Milicic, D.; Merkely, B.; O'Donoghue, E.; Amir, O.; Shotan, A.; Shafie, D.; Metra, M.; Matsumori, A.; Mirrakhimov, E.; Kavoliuniene, A.; Erglis, A.; Vataman, E.; Otljanska, M.; Kostovska, E. S.; Demarco, D. C.; Drozdz, J.; Fonseca, C.; Chioncel, O.; Dekleva, M.; Shkolnik, E.; Dahlstrom, U.; Goncalvesova, E.; Temizhan, A.; Estrago, V.; Bajraktari, G.; Auer, J.; Ablasser, K.; Dolze, T.; Brandner, K.; Gstrein, S.; Poelzl, G.; Moertl, D.; Reiter, S.; Podczeck-Schweighofer, A.; Muslibegovic, A. |
| Description: |
Aims: We assessed the interplay between hyperkalaemia (HK) and renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system inhibitor (RAASi) use, dose and discontinuation, and their association with all-cause or cardiovascular death in patients with chronic heart failure (HF). We hypothesized that HK-associated increased death may be related to RAASi withdrawal. Methods and results: The ESC-HFA-EORP Heart Failure Long-Term Registry was used. Among 9222 outpatients (HF with reduced ejection fraction: 60.6%, HF with mid-range ejection fraction: 22.9%, HF with preserved ejection fraction: 16.5%) from 31 countries, 16.6% had HK (≥5.0 mmol/L) at baseline. Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEi) or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) was used in 88.3%, a mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist (MRA) in 58.7%, or a combination in 53.2%; of these, at ≥50% of target dose in ACEi: 61.8%; ARB: 64.7%; and MRA: 90.3%. At a median follow-up of 12.2 months, there were 789 deaths (8.6%). Both hypokalaemia and HK were independently. associated with higher mortality, and ACEi/ARB prescription at baseline with lower mortality. MRA prescription was not retained in the model. In multivariable analyses, HK at baseline was independently associated with MRA non-prescription at baseline and subsequent discontinuation. When considering subsequent discontinuation of RAASi (instead of baseline use), HK was no longer found associated with all-cause deaths. Importantly, all RAASi (ACEi, ARB, or MRA) discontinuations were strongly associated with mortality. Conclusions: In HF, hyper- and hypokalaemia were associated with mortality. However, when adjusting for RAASi discontinuation, HK was no longer associated with mortality, suggesting that HK may be a risk marker for RAASi discontinuation rather than a risk factor for worse outcomes. |