Decrease in serum adiponectin levels in response to treatment predicts good prognosis in acute decompensated heart failure.

Adiponectin is a cardioprotective adipocytokine. Serum adiponectin concentration decreases in patients who are obese but increases in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). The aim of this study was to explore the temporal changes in serum adiponectin concentration following treatment for acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF). Serum adiponectin was measured on admission and at discharge in 95 patients who were admitted to our hospital with ADHF. Ten patients without heart failure (HF) served as controls. Serum adiponectin concentration was higher on admission in HF patients than in the controls (22.6±13.3 μg/mL vs 9.3±3.9 μg/mL, P<.01). Serum adiponectin concentration decreased after treatment in HF patients (18.0±11.7 μg/mL vs 22.6±13.3 μg/mL, P<.01). The larger temporal decrease in adiponectin level in ADHF was associated with the lower incidence of cardiac death or HF hospitalizations (log-rank, P<.05). Serum adiponectin concentration was elevated in ADHF and decreased following the treatment. How much serum adiponectin decreases in response to treatment in ADHF is an important determinant of the prognosis.