Ventricular Conduction Defects and the Risk of Incident Heart Failure in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study

• Heart failure (HF) risk was assessed for ventricular conduction defects (VCDs).
• VCDs except for isolated RBBB were strong predictors of new-onset HF.
• HF risk was further increased as QRS duration was prolonged >140 ms.

BackgroundWe evaluated the risk of incident heart failure (HF) associated with various categories of ventricular conduction defects (VCDs) and examined the impact of QRS duration on the risk of HF.Methods and ResultsThis analysis included 14,478 participants from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study who were free of HF at baseline. VCDs (n = 377) were categorized into right and left bundle branch blocks (RBBB and LBBB, respectively), bifascicular BBB (RBBB with fascicular block), indeterminate-type VCD (IVCD), and pooled VCD group excluding lone RBBB. During an average of 18 years' follow-up, 1,772 participants were hospitalized for incident HF. Compared with no VCD, LBBB and pooled VCD were strongly associated with increased risk of incident HF (multivariable hazard ratios 2.87 and 2.29, respectively). Compared with no VCD with QRS duration <100 ms, HF risk was 1.17-fold for the no VCD group with QRS duration 100–119 ms, 1.97-fold for the pooled VCD group with QRS duration 120–139 ms, and 3.25-fold for the pooled VCD group with QRS duration ≥140 ms. HF risk for the pooled VCD group remained significant (1.74-fold for QRS duration 120–139 ms and 2.81-fold for QRS duration ≥140 ms) in the subgroup free from cardiovascular disease at baseline. Lone RBBB was not associated with incident HF.ConclusionsVCDs except for isolated RBBB are strong predictors of incident HF, and HF risk is further increased as the QRS duration is prolonged >140 ms.