Study population
Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics of the study group are summarised in Table 1. Of the 105 patients enrolled, 11 (10.5%) were asymptomatic (NYHA class I) and 54 (51.4%) were in NYHA class II. 40 (38.1%) patients from our cohort had severe symptoms of HF: there were 31 (29.5%) patients in NYHA class III and 9 (8.6%) patients in NYHA class IV. Mean age in the study group was 61±14 years and the majority were men (73%). Asymptomatic patients were significantly younger (51±10 years) than both patients in NYHA class II (62±13 years) and severely symptomatic patients (62±14 years, p=0.048), and they had significantly less diuretic use (27%, versus 91% and 93%, respectively, p=0.002). There were no significant differences in terms of age and comorbidities between patients in various NYHA classes (Table 1). BNP levels were significantly higher in patients with severe symptoms.