Prevalence of stage B heart failure in patients undergoing echocardiography during regular clinical practice.

Recognizing individuals with stage B heart failure (HF) is important to prevent or delay its progression to symptomatic HF. Unfortunately, no study at present describes the prevalence of stage B HF in Indian patients. This study involved 227 consecutive patients (mean age 56.3 ± 12.1 years, 60 % were men) undergoing echocardiography at a referral center in North India. Overall, 13 % of patients had increased left atrial volume index, 7 % had elevated ratio of early diastolic mitral inflow to mitral annular velocity, and 47 % had reduced left ventricular global longitudinal strain. Based on these findings, stage B HF was diagnosed in 119 (52.4 %) subjects. The patients with stage B HF had significantly lower left atrial reservoir strain. In conclusion, this study shows a high prevalence of stage B HF in a general clinical setting in India. Further, larger studies are needed to overcome the current study limitations and better define stage B HF's prevalence and clinical implications in Indian patients.