Angiopoietin-Like Protein 7 and Short-Term Mortality in Acute Heart Failure

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Angiopoietin-like protein 7 (ANGPTL7) is involved in extracellular matrix expression and inflammatory responses. However, the prognostic utility of ANGPTL7 among patients with acute heart failure (AHF) remains unclear. <b><i>Objective:</i></b> To evaluate the association between ANGPTL7 and short-term mortality due to AHF. <b><i>Methods and Results:</i></b> Patients with AHF were prospectively studied. Serum levels of ANGPTL7 were measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Associations between 30- and 90-day mortality and tertiles of ANGPTL7 were assessed by multivariate logistic regression models. The study comprised 142 patients. Median patient age was 68 years, and 69.7% were male. There were 20 deaths within 30 days and 37 deaths within 90 days. Crude rates of 30-day mortality in low, intermediate, and high tertiles of ANGPTL7 were 4.6, 14.6, and 22.9%, respectively. Crude rates of 90-day mortality of corresponding tertiles were 15.2, 25.0, and 37.5%. After adjusting for potential confounders, including NT-proBNP, the high tertile of ANGPTL7 was associated with a significantly increased risk of both 30-day mortality (odds ratio [OR]: 6.77, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.41–32.61, <i>p</i> = 0.017) and 90-day mortality (OR: 3.78, 95% CI: 1.38–10.36, <i>p</i> = 0.010) compared with the low tertile of ANGPTL7. Although mortality risk tended to be higher in the intermediate tertile than the low tertile, it did not reach statistical significance (OR: 3.75, 95% CI: 0.73–19.14, <i>p</i> = 0.113 for 30-day mortality; OR: 1.88, 95% CI: 0.66–5.34, <i>p</i> = 0.236 for 90-day mortality).<b><i> Conclusions:</i></b> Serum level of ANGPTL7 was independently associated with short-term mortality among patients with AHF.