Leg strength and incidence of heart failure in patients with acute coronary syndrome

Abstract

Abstract Aims The risk of developing heart failure (HF) after acute coronary syndrome (ACS) remains high. It is unclear whether skeletal muscle strength, in addition to existing risk factors, is a predictor for developing HF after ACS. We aimed to clarify the relationship between quadriceps isometric strength (QIS), a skeletal muscle strength indicator, and the risk of developing HF in patients with ACS. Methods and results We included 1053 patients with ACS without a prior HF or complications of HF during hospitalization. The median (interquartile range) age was 67 (57–74) years. The patients were classified into two groups—high and low QIS—using the sex-specific median QIS. The endpoint was HF admissions. During a mean follow-up period of 4.4 ± 3.7 years, 75 (7.1%) HF admissions were observed. After multivariate adjustment, a high QIS was associated with a lower risk of HF [hazard ratio: 0.52, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.32–0.87]. Hazard ratio (95% CI) per 5% body weight increment increase of QIS for HF incidents was 0.87 (0.80–0.95). Even when competing risks of death were taken into account, the results did not change. The inclusion of QIS was associated with increases in net reclassification improvement (0.26; 95% CI: 0.002–0.52) and an integrated discrimination index (0.01; 95% CI: 0.004–0.02) for HF. Conclusion The present study showed that a higher level of QIS was strongly associated with a lower risk of developing HF after ACS. These findings suggest that skeletal muscle strength could be one of the factors contributing to the risk of developing HF after ACS.