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(Circulation. 2005;111:2313-2318.)
© 2005 American Heart Association, Inc.

Heart Failure

Peak Oxygen Consumption as a Predictor of Death in Patients With Heart Failure Receiving ß-Blockers

James O. O’Neill, MB, MRCPI; James B. Young, MD; Claire E. Pothier, MA, MPH; Michael S. Lauer, MD

From the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio.

Reprint requests to Michael S. Lauer, MD, FACC, Dept of Cardiovascular Medicine, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Desk F25, 9500 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44195. E-mail Lauerm{at}ccf.org

Received November 26, 2004; revision received January 12, 2005; accepted January 20, 2005.

	Abstract

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Background— Peak oxygen uptake (peak O₂) is a strong predictor of mortality and is commonly used in the evaluation of patients for cardiac transplantation. ß-Blockers reduce mortality in patients with heart failure, without influencing peak O₂, raising the possibility that peak O₂ is no longer suitable as an indicator of prognosis in these patients.

Methods and Results— We analyzed prospectively gathered data on 2105 patients referred for cardiopulmonary testing for all-cause mortality and for occurrence of death or transplantation. Patients receiving ß-blockers were younger, more likely to have coronary disease, and had a greater mean ejection fraction but had a similar peak O₂. There were 555 deaths (26%) and 194 (9%) transplants during a median follow-up of 3.5 years. Peak O₂ was a predictor of mortality irrespective of ß-blocker use; a decrease of 1 mL · kg^–1 · min^–1 resulted in an adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of 1.13 (95% CI 1.09 to 1.17, P<0.0001) in patients not receiving ß-blockers and 1.27 (95% CI 1.18 to 1.36, P<0.0001) in patients receiving ß-blockers. Similar findings were noted when considering death or transplantation as an end point. ß-Blocker use was associated with better outcomes until peak O₂ values became very low (10 mL · kg^–1 · min^–1), at which level survival rates were equally poor.

Conclusion— Peak O₂ is a determinant of survival in patients in heart failure even in the setting of ß-blockade. Because of improved survival in patients treated with ß-blockers, the cut point value of 14 mg · kg^–1 · min^–1 for referral for cardiac transplantation in these patients requires reevaluation, and a lower cut point may be more appropriate.

Key Words: heart failure • exercise • adrenergic beta-antagonists • prognosis • ventricular dysfunction, left

	Introduction

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Eligibility for cardiac transplantation relies heavily on the measurement of peak oxygen uptake (peak O₂) during cardiopulmonary exercise testing. A cutoff of 14 mL · kg^–1 · min^–1 has been shown to predict an increased 1-year mortality¹ and has been adopted as a threshold value for consideration for cardiac transplantation.² These data were accumulated in the late 1980s and did not include patients receiving ß-blocker therapy. Later follow-up studies performed in the 1990s did include patients taking ß-blockers.³ ß-Blockers have been uniformly associated with a one-third reduction in mortality in patients with heart failure, without consistently changing peak O₂.^4–6 A recent study of 127 patients with heart failure concluded that peak O₂ did not predict survival in the setting of ß-blocker therapy.⁷

Because accurate selection of cardiac transplant recipients remains such a challenging issue and in light of the increasing gap between donor supply and demand, we sought to reassess the prognostic significance of peak O₂ in patients with heart failure according to whether they were taking regular ß-blocker therapy.

	Methods

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This was an observational prospective cohort study of consecutive patients referred to The Cleveland Clinic Foundation with left ventricular systolic ejection fraction 35% who were referred for metabolic treadmill exercise testing between January 1995 and December 2002. Exclusion criteria included age <20 years, absence of US Social Security number, congenital or primary valvular heart disease, end-stage renal disease, or history of previous cardiac transplantation. In patients with >1 metabolic exercise test, only the initial study was included in the analysis. Because sotalol has ß-blocking as well as class III antiarrhythmic effects, patients receiving this medication (n=18) were excluded. Data were prospectively recorded on a customized computer database, which was approved by the Institutional Review Board of The Cleveland Clinic Foundation. The requirement for obtaining informed consent was waived.

Clinical and Exercise Data
Before each metabolic stress test, a structured interview and chart review yielded prospectively obtained data on demographics, left ventricular ejection fraction, medications, etiology of heart failure, and various other clinical parameters as defined previously.⁸ We performed symptom-limited metabolic stress testing using the Naughton protocol and recorded on a MedGraphics cardiopulmonary system. Data were prospectively collected during each stage of exercise on symptoms, rhythm, and blood pressure. Measurements of oxygen consumption (O₂), CO₂ production (CO₂), heart rate, minute ventilation (E), tidal volume (VT), and respiratory rate were made after steady state at rest and after every 30 seconds during exercise and recovery. The ventilatory response to exercise was defined as the value of E/CO₂ at peak exercise.⁸ Anaerobic threshold was determined by the V-slope method⁹ or by inspecting ventilatory equivalents.¹⁰

Because of the inclusion of patients with atrial fibrillation and patients actively receiving ß-blocker therapy, chronotropic response (previously documented to have prognostic significance in exercise testing¹¹) was not included in the analyses. In addition, because of the inclusion of patients with permanent pacemakers, heart rate recovery (also known to be of prognostic importance¹²) also was not considered. The Duke treadmill score¹³ was not included for the above reasons and because of the prevalence of abnormal resting ECGs in this population.

End Points
The primary end point was all-cause mortality, which was determined with reference to the Social Security Death Index.^14,15 We have previously shown that this method has a sensitivity of 97% for detecting death in Cleveland Clinic Foundation exercise laboratory patients.¹¹ Cross-referencing our unified transplant database identified patients later undergoing orthotopic heart transplantation. Thus, transplant-free survival (or time free of death or transplantation) was considered as a secondary end point.

Statistical Analyses
Patients were first divided into 2 groups, based on whether they listed ß-blocker therapy among their regular medications. The Wilcoxon rank sum test was used for comparisons of continuous variables and the ² test was used to test for comparisons of categorical variables.

Kaplan-Meier curves were constructed and nonparsimonious Cox proportional hazards modeling was performed to analyze the association of peak O₂, in addition to a variety of other prospectively recorded parameters and survival or transplant-free survival. All of the variables listed in Table 1 were considered as potential confounders. For the primary end point of all-cause mortality, cardiac transplantation was considered as a time-dependent covariate irrespective of how long after stress testing the operation occurred. The proportional hazards assumption was confirmed by calculating Schoenfeld residuals. Possible nonlinear associations between the logarithm of hazard and outcome were tested with restricted cubic splines.¹⁶ We prospectively tested for an interaction between ß-blocker use and peak O₂. Relative strengths of association were described based on Wald ² statistics.

View this table: [in this window] [in a new window]   TABLE 1. Clinical and Cardiovascular Characteristics According to the Use of ß-Blocker Therapy

Model discrimination was tested by calculating a C-index for censored data,¹⁷ which corresponds to the area under an ROC curve; this index describes the possibility that for a randomly chosen pair of patients in which one had an event and the other did not but was followed for at least as long (or had an event after longer follow-up), the model correctly found a higher risk in the patient who had an event (or had the event earlier in follow-up). Model calibration was tested by grouping patients into quintiles of predicted risk and comparing actual 5-year Kaplan-Meier rates with predicted rates. For discrimination and calibration, 200 bootstrap resamplings were performed and the resulting 200 models used for calculating C-indexes and predicted risk.

In a supplementary analysis, we considered percent-predicted peak O₂ based on age and sex as a predictor of survival or transplant-free survival.¹⁸

Data assembly and basic statistical comparisons were performed with SAS software (version 9.1, SAS Institute). Survival curves and Cox proportional hazards analyses were performed with Harrell’s Design and Hmisc libraries¹⁹ of the S-plus 6.2 software package (Insightful, Inc). A probability value of <0.05 was considered significant.

	Results

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There were 2105 patients eligible for analysis, of whom 909 (43%) regularly took ß-blocking medication. Clinical and metabolic exercise data, according to use of ß-blocker therapy, are shown in Table 1. Patients taking ß-blockers were younger, more likely to have an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator, hypertension, coronary disease, previous myocardial infarction, and type 2 diabetes mellitus, and less likely to have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, and atrial fibrillation. Patients taking ß-blockers had a greater body mass index and, as anticipated, a lower resting heart rate. Left ventricular ejection fraction was greater in the group receiving ß-blockers.

Peak oxygen consumption was similar in both groups, but the E/CO₂ ratio was slightly higher in patients receiving ß-blockers. The peak respiratory exchange ratio was slightly higher among patients not taking ß-blockers (1.13 versus 1.10, P<0.0001).

During a median follow-up of 3.5 years (25th and 75th percentiles 2.0 and 5.4 years) among survivors, 555 (26%) patients died and 194 (9%) underwent cardiac transplantation. Long-term survival was significantly better in patients taking ß-blockers, with an unadjusted mortality HR of 0.60 (95% CI 0.49 to 0.73, P<0.0001). The survival advantage was maintained when adjusted for the characteristics listed in Table 1 (adjusted HR 0.68, 95% CI 0.55 to 0.85, P=0.0006) and considering cardiac transplantation as a time-dependent covariate. Similarly, patients taking ß-blockers had a lower risk of experiencing death or cardiac transplantation (adjusted HR 0.63, 95% CI 0.52 to 0.76, P<0.0001).

Survival curves of patients subdivided into 4 groups on and off ß-blockers, with peak O₂>14 mL · kg^–1 · min^–1 and 14 mL · kg^–1 · min^–1 are shown in Figures 1A and 2A. For both patients taking and not taking ß-blockers, a lower peak O₂ was associated with a lower survival or transplant-free survival. When we repeated all of these analyses based on age- and sex-predicted peak O₂, we noted essentially identical results. A lower percent-predicted peak O₂ was associated with worse survival (Figure 1B) or transplant-free survival irrespective of ß-blocker use (Figure 2B).

View larger version (24K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Figure 1. Survival according to peak oxygen uptake (A) or percent-predicted peak oxygen uptake (B) and ß-blocker use. Kaplan-Meier plot with Greenwood confidence intervals. Cardiac transplantation was considered as a time-dependent covariate.

View larger version (26K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Figure 2. Transplant-free survival according to peak oxygen uptake (A) or percent-predicted peak oxygen consumption (B) and ß-blocker use. Kaplan-Meier plot with Greenwood confidence intervals.

Table 2 summarizes the results of Cox proportional hazards analyses. The models calibrated well and also showed good discrimination (c-statistic for model of death 0.74 and for model of death or transplantation 0.77). For both death and death or transplantation, peak O₂ was associated with outcomes irrespective of ß-blocker use. The association between peak O₂ and survival was actually stronger among patients taking ß-blockers. This is evident when examining Figures 3 and 4, which illustrate the association between peak O₂ and survival (or transplant-free survival) according to ß-blocker usage after accounting for all of the covariates listed in Table 1. In a clinically relevant range of 10 mL · kg^–1 · min^–1 to 25 mL · kg^–1 · min^–1, the slope of the curve was steeper among beta-blocker patients (probability value for interaction terms listed in Table 2). ß-Blocker usage was associated with improved survival except when peak O₂ became very low, that is, at 10 mL · kg^–1 · min^–1 or less. E/O₂ was not predictive of survival.

View this table: [in this window] [in a new window]   TABLE 2. Association of Peak Oxygen Consumption With Mortality or Death or Transplantation: Results of Multivariable Proportional Hazards Analyses

View larger version (15K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Figure 3. Adjusted 5-year survival (with 95% CI) according to ß-blocker use. For these descriptive curves, all continuous variables are set to median values and categorical variables are set to mode. Cox proportional hazards models used to generate these curves adjusted for all variables listed in Table 1. Cardiac transplantation was considered as a time-dependent covariate.

View larger version (15K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Figure 4. Adjusted 5-year transplant-free survival (with 95% CI) according to ß-blocker use. For these descriptive curves, all continuous variables are set to median values and categorical variables are set to mode. Cox proportional hazards models used to generate these curves adjusted for all variables listed in Table 1.

The strongest predictor of death of peak O₂ (Wald ²=76), whereas other strong predictors with a Wald ² value >10 were men (²=21) and use of thiazide diuretics (²=13); predictors of better survival include use of ß-blockade (²=21) and undergoing cardiac transplantation (²=51). The interaction of ß-blockade and peak O₂ was also strongly predictive of death (²=11).

When we repeated these regression analyses using percent-predicted peak O₂ instead of absolute peak O₂, the overall results were not changed materially.

	Discussion

Top Abstract Introduction Methods Results Discussion References

 
In this large cohort of 2105 patients with severe left ventricular dysfunction and symptomatic heart failure, peak O₂ was a predictor of increased mortality or of a secondary end point of death or transplant, even in the so-called ß-blocker era. This remained true even after accounting for multiple possible confounding variables, including left ventricular ejection fraction, age, implantable cardioverter-defibrillators, and other concomitant medications. The relationship between peak O₂ and prognosis was actually stronger in patients receiving ß-blockers than in those not receiving them.

The threshold of 14 mL · kg^–1 · min^–1 for referral for cardiac transplantation was based on data accumulated before the advent of ß-blockade for heart failure.^1,20,21 ß-Blocker therapy is not independently associated with an improvement in peak O₂,^22–24 and in our group, peak O₂ was similar in patients receiving and not receiving ß-blockers. These observations, coupled with the dramatic improvement in survival seen with ß-blockers, perhaps accompanied by a change in the natural history of the disease, has prompted some sources to question the prognostic significance of peak O₂ in the ß-blocker era.⁷

Peak oxygen consumption assessment was developed as a means to formally assess functional status in patients with heart failure.²⁵ Data from the first Veterans Administration Heart Failure Trial demonstrated that peak oxygen consumption independently predicted mortality.²¹ A study of 116 patients being considered for cardiac transplantation in a University of Pennsylvania program found that in patients with a peak oxygen consumption of 14 mL · kg^–1 · min^–1, the freedom from death or urgent cardiac transplantation was only 48% at 1 year.¹ Patients without significant comorbidities and with a peak oxygen consumption of >14 mL · kg^–1 · min^–1 had a 1-year survival of 94%. A consensus exists that an ejection fraction <20% and a peak oxygen consumption of <14 mL · kg^–1 · min^–1 should be present to warrant referral for cardiac transplantation.² Notably, however, some argue that there is an overreliance placed on this single end point for prognosis.²⁶

A retrospective study by Shakar et al⁷ reviewed 127 patients who were taking ß-blockers for at least 3 months and had undergone metabolic exercise testing. They divided the patients into 2 groups, 1 with peak O₂ >14 mL · kg^–1 · min^–1 (n=109) and the other with peak O₂ <14 mL · kg^–1 · min^–1 (n=18). At 30 months, the number of patients who reached the combined end point of death or transplantation was similar. They concluded from these data that the current peak O₂ cutoff does not predict survival without transplantation of patients on chronic ß-blocker therapy.

In another study of 408 patients with heart failure and ejection fraction <45%, Zugeck and colleagues assessed outcome according to ß-blocker use.²⁷ They used a combined clinical end point of progressive heart failure (requiring hospital admission), inotropes, intravenous diuretics, and mechanical support or cardiac death or both at 1 year. A peak O₂ 14 mL · kg^–1 · min^–1 in patients who were receiving ß-blockers was associated with the combined end point 23% to 26%, whereas for patients who did not receive ß-blockers, it was 35% to 64%.

A further study by Peterson et al of 540 patients with heart failure compared the outcomes from nontransplanted patients with data from the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation transplant database, according to peak O₂.²⁸ They concluded that patients taking ß-blockers with peak O₂ 12 mL · kg^–1 · min^–1 had greater 1- and 3-year survival (with transplantation a censored event) than did post-transplant patients. For patients not taking ß-blockers and peak O₂ <14 mL · kg^–1 · min^–1, however, survival was worse than it was for transplant recipients.

Our study is the largest to date to look at this issue. In addition, we used mortality as a hard end point. Some limitations of our study are worth noting, however. Because our data are derived from a cohort seen at a referral center with a high cardiac transplant volume, there is a need to confirm our results elsewhere. Using the Social Security Death Index meant that we did not have data regarding the cause of death. Our group and others have addressed the issue of assessing cause of death in patients with cardiovascular disease. Attempting to classify cause of death is problematic, whereas all-cause mortality is an objective, clinically relevant, and unbiased end point.^29–31 Because of the inclusion of patients with atrial fibrillation, pacemakers, and ß-blocker use, we could not incorporate chronotropic response or heart rate recovery into our survival models. We did not have data on ß-blocker dose (although we did have data on resting heart rate), nor did we have data regarding who prescribed ß-blockers and why. We did not have detailed data regarding symptoms such as paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea. Our analyses were based on peak O₂ as an absolute value. Although some have proposed using percent-predicted O₂ based on age and sex, this value has not been shown to be more effective at predicting survival than the simple value.³ Furthermore, in our supplementary analyses, results were essentially equivalent when using the percent-predicted value.

Cardiac transplantation was a competing event, which we treated as a time-dependent covariate and also as a secondary end point; this seems a reasonable strategy because it is unlikely that patients were specifically chosen for transplant on the basis of ß-blocker use; however, peak O₂ most likely was used in selecting patients for transplantation.

It is noteworthy that at low levels of peak O₂, ß-blockade was no longer associated with a survival benefit (see Figure 3 at about 10 mL · kg^–1 · min^–1). This suggests that the improved survival observed with ß-blockade may be weaker among patients with severely impaired functional capacity, in which mortality rates are high irrespective of treatment.

Our findings confirm the prognostic importance of peak O₂ in patients with heart failure in the ß-blocker era. Indeed, a low peak O₂ may be an even more powerful predictor of mortality in patients receiving ß-blocker therapy than in those treated without them. Because of improved survival in patients treated with ß-blockers, the traditional cut point of <14 mg · kg^–1 · min^–1 for referral for cardiac transplantation in these patients requires reevaluation, and a lower cut point value may be more appropriate. In addition, these data confirm the powerful survival advantage imparted by ß-blocker therapy, but primarily among those patients with a functional capacity exceeding 10 mL · kg^–1 · min^–1. Clinicians caring for patients with heart failure should recognize the value of prescribing ß-blockers for patients with impaired systolic ventricular function and that even in the setting of ß-blockade cardiopulmonary stress testing is a valuable prognostic tool.

	Acknowledgments

 
Dr Lauer and Ms Pothier receive support from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (Grant HL-66004); Dr O’Neill receives support from the Fulbright Commission.

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