Abstract 13776: Associations Between Plasma Zinc and Mortality in Heart Failure Patients

Background: Zinc is essentially an intracellular ion, stored mainly in the skeletal muscles and bones, and is associated with cell growth and differentiation as catalytic and structural cofactor. Heart failure (HF) may be associated with zinc deficiency through reduction in dietary intake, decreased absorption due to gastrointestinal edema, impaired motility or intestinal zinc losses. We aimed to investigate the impact of plasma levels of zinc on prognosis of HF, and underlying clinical background and cardiac function. Methods and Results: We measured plasma levels of zinc in 968 patients with HF. These patients were divided into 3 groups based on the zinc level (μg/dl): 1st (76≤zinc, n=312), 2nd (62≤zinc<75, n=344) and 3rd (zinc< 61, n=312) tertiles. We examined cardiac function and exercise capacity, and followed up all patients (mean 1103 days). Multiple regression analysis showed that age, presence of anemia and usage of diuretics are independent predictors of zinc (age, s=-0.184, P<0.001; anemia, s=-...