Plasma von Willebrand factor and soluble E-selectin levels in stable outpatients with systolic heart failure: The Frederiksberg heart failure study

BACKGROUND: Endothelial dysfunction is a well-established aspect of the pathophysiology of patients with systolic heart failure. We have previously reported that patients who have had multiple current or previous hospital admissions for decompensated heart failure have consistently shown abnormal levels of plasma von Willebrand factor (vWf, an index of endothelial damage/dysfunction) and soluble E-selectin (E-sel, an index of endothelial activation), as well as other indices of endothelial perturbation. METHODS: To investigate if endothelial abnormalities extend to CHF outpatients who have only been recently diagnosed or have relatively mild or few, stable symptoms (at baseline), given the better prognosis in these patients, we performed a cross-sectional analysis of CHF patients, where vWf and E-sel levels (as indices of endothelial perturbation) were measured (ELISA) and related to left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), exercise capacity (6-min walk test) and N-terminal pro-Brain Natiuretic Peptide (NT-proBNP). RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences in vWf and E-sel levels amongst patients with systolic heart failure compared to controls. Plasma NT-proBNP levels in patients with CHF were significantly elevated compared to controls (p