Aortic root remodeling and risk of heart failure in the framingham heart study

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between aortic root remodeling and incident heart failure (HF). Background: Age-associated increases in aortic root diameter (AoD) might be associated with arterial stiffening, afterload changes, cardiac remodeling, and the development of HF. Methods: The study sample consisted of participants of the Framingham Heart Study Original and Offspring cohorts who underwent serial echocardiographic measurements of AoD and continuous surveillance for new-onset HF. The AoD was measured at baseline, and the change in AoD between 8-year examination cycles was calculated. Pooled repeated observations (total 13,605 person-observations) in multivariable Cox regression analyses were used to relate baseline AoD and change in AoD to the incidence of HF on follow-up. Models were adjusted for known HF risk factors (age, sex, body mass index, blood pressure, hypertension treatment, diabetes, smoking, prior myocardial infarction, and valve disease). Results: With adjustment for clinical risk factors, the risk of incident HF increased with greater AoD at baseline (hazard ratio: 1.19/1 SD; 95% confidence interval: 1.07 to 1.33) as well as increases in AoD over 8 years (hazard ratio: 1.20/1 SD; 95% confidence interval: 1.04 to 1.38). The AoD correlated with left ventricular mass (r = 0.50; p < 0.001). After adjustment for left ventricular mass in addition to clinical risk factors, the association of AoD with incident HF was rendered nonsignificant. Conclusions: Aortic root remodeling is associated with future risk of HF among middle-aged and older adults in the community, potentially because it reflects parallel ventricular-vascular remodeling in those with an enlarged aortic root. Additional studies are warranted to confirm our findings.