Clinical significance of 123I-BMIPP washout rate in patients with uncertain chronic heart failure

Background Recently, triglyceride deposit cardiomyovasculopathy (TGCV) with defective intracellular lipolysis was found to be a disease that causes heart failure. As a diagnostic criterion for TGCV, an Iodaine-123-beta-methyl iodophenyl-pentadecanoic acid washout rate (BMIPP WOR) of < 10% is used, but its clinical significance in patients with heart failure remains to be clarified. Methods In 62 hospitalized patients with chronic heart failure, I-123-BMIPP myocardial single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) was performed predischarge state. The prevalence of TGCV was investigated. Subsequently, follow-up was conducted for >= 90 days (mean: 724.6 +/- 392.7 days), and the association between the BMIPP WOR and cardiac events was examined, establishing all-cause mortality and admission due to heart failure as endpoints. Results Of the 62 patients, the WOR was < 10% in 41 (66.1%). Of these, 26 (41.9%) were diagnosed with definite TGCV. Furthermore, cardiac events were noted in 12 patients (19.4%). Analysis with Cox proportional hazards models showed that the BMIPP WOR < 4.5% was a significant event-predicting factor [HR 4.29, 95% CI: 1.20-16.87; p = 0.0245]. On a Kaplan-Meier curve, the WOR was 4.5%; there was a significant difference in the incidence of events (p = 0.0298). Conclusion In the predischarge state of heart failure, I-123-BMIPP myocardial SPECT was performed. In approximately 40% of the patients, a diagnosis of TGCV was made. The results suggested that the BMIPP WOR is useful for predicting the prognosis of chronic heart failure patients regardless of TGCV.