A substantial portion of the public health burden of heart failure is due to hospitalizations, many of which are for causes other than cardiovascular disease. We assessed whether left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction was associated with increased risk of both cardiovascular and noncardiovascular hospitalizations in a community sample of African Americans.

African American participants from the Jackson, MS, site of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study who underwent echocardiography were followed for 12 years. Hospitalization rates among individuals with and without LV systolic dysfunction were compared using negative binomial regression.

Among 2,416 participants with echocardiograms, LV systolic dysfunction was found in 61 (2.5%). Participants with LV dysfunction experienced 366 hospitalizations, a rate of 1.27 per person-year, compared with 0.25 per person-year among individuals without LV dysfunction. The incidence rate ratio adjusted for demographics, comorbidities, and other risk factors was 3.11 (95% CI 2.22-4.35). The adjusted rate ratios were 4.76 (95% CI 2.90-7.20) for cardiovascular and 2.67 (95% CI 1.82-3.90) for noncardiovascular diagnoses, with similar findings in the subset of individuals with asymptomatic LV dysfunction. The percentage attributable risks for hospitalizations were 87% and 74% for cardiovascular and noncardiovascular causes (79% and 63% after adjustment).

African American individuals with LV dysfunction are at an increased risk of hospitalization due to a wide range of causes, with noncardiovascular hospitalizations accounting for nearly half the increased risk. To the extent that estimates of risk focus on cardiovascular morbidity, they may underestimate the true health burden of LV dysfunction.