Bendopnea: Association With Echocardiographic Features and Clinical Outcomes in Elderly Patients With Chronic Heart Failure

Aim: to assess the prevalence of bendopnea and association of this symptom with clinical, laboratory and echocardiographic features, clinical outcomes during 2 years of follow­up in ambulatory elderly patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). Materials and methods. We conducted an open, prospective, non­randomized study of 80 ambulatory patients aged ≥60 years admitted with heart failure II–IV NYHA class CHF. Baseline survey included physical examination, estimation of Charlson comorbidity index, echocardiography and laboratory tests. Bendopnea was considered when shortness of breath occurred within 30 sec of sitting on a chair and bending forward. Mean follow­up was 26.6±11.0 months. Results. Bendopnea was present in 38.8 % patients. All these patients complained of shortness of breath during physical exertion and 45.2 % of them had orthopnea. Bendopnea was associated with the male gender (odds ratio [OR] 11.8, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 4.04–34.8, p