Of 1,547 patients, mean (¡ÀSD) age was 71 ¡À 11 years, 48 % were women, median (interquartile range [IQR]) TAPSE was 18.5 (14.0-22.7) mm, mean LVEF was 47 ¡À 16 % , 47 % had LVEF ?5 % and 67 % were diagnosed with CHF, defined as systolic (S-HF) if LVEF was ?5 % and as heart failure?with preserved ejection fraction (HFPEF) if LVEF was >45 % and treated with a loop diuretic. During a median (IQR) follow-up of 63 (41-75) months, mortality was 34 % . In multivariable analysis, increasing age, N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), New York Heart Association functional class, right atrial volume index, and transtricuspid pressure gradient; lower TAPSE, diastolic blood pressure, and hemoglobin; and atrial fibrillation (AF) or COPD were associated with an adverse prognosis. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis identified a TAPSE of 15.9 mm as the best prognostic threshold (P?= .0001); 47 % of S-HF and 20 % of HFPEF had a TAPSE of <15.9 mm. The main associations with a TAPSE <15.9?mm were higher NT-proBNP, presence of atrial fibrillation and presence of LV systolic dysfunction.
In patients with CHF, low values for TAPSE are common, especially in those with reduced LVEF. TAPSE, unlike LVEF, was an independent predictor of outcome.