RESUMO
Objective:To investigate the daily dietary fiber intake, the main adverse cardiovascular events during follow-up and the cardiac event-free survival in patients with chronic heart failure, and to analyze the relationship between dietary fiber intake and cardiac event-free survival in this population.Methods:This study was a prospective investigation. The investigation was performed in chronic heart failure patients from three third-class hospitals in Suzhou using general information questionnaire and 3-day diet diary. Major adverse cardiovascular events within 6 months after discharge and event-free survival were obtained by telephone call and medical records.Results:The incidence of major cardiovascular adverse events in 122 patients with heart failure was 27.9% within 6 months after discharge. Their dietary fiber intake was 8.1(5.8-10.9)g/d, lower than the recommended intake. Kaplan-Meier plots and log-rank tests demonstrated that cardiac event-free survival was significantly shorter in patients with dietary fiber deficiency ( P=0.043). Patients with dietary fiber intake ≥6 g/d after discharge showed decreased risk of major adverse cardiovascular events compared to patients with dietary fiber intake<6 g/d ( HR=0.422; 95% CI=0.189-0.942; P=0.035). Conclusions:This study revealed insufficient dietary fiber intake in patients with heart failure. Insufficient dietary fiber intake was associated with higher risk of major adverse cardiovascular events and shorter cardiac event-free survival in heart failure patients within 6 months after discharge. In conclusion, patients with heart failure can increase dietary fiber intake in order to improve prognosis.