Objective To investigate the relationship between heart rate turbulence(HRT) and the prognosis in heart failure patients with preserved ejection fraction(HFpEF).

Methods A total of 291 patients with HFpEF were selected as study objects(during 2-year follow-up, 11 cases were lost and 280 cases were included). The turbulence onset (TO) and turbulence slope (TS) from the results of the holter electrocardiogram were calculated. According to the presence or absence of HRT, the patients were divided into observation group and control group, and the general information were compared. The occurrence of adverse cardiovascularevents, such as chest pain, cardiac insufficiency, atrial fibrillation, and non-persistent ventricular tachycardia as well as re-hospitalization and death were compared between the two groups during follow-up.

Results There was no significant difference between the two groups in general information (P>0.05). There were 117(41.79%) patients with abnormal TO (TO ≥ 0) and 25 patients (8.93%)with TS abnormality (TS ≤ 2.5ms/RR interval), while 13 patients with both abnormality of TO and TS. The ratio of abnormality of TO was higher than that of TS(P < 0.05). No death occurred during the follow-up period in the two groups, and the incidencerates of cardiovascular events such as chest pain, atrial fibrillation, cardiac insufficiency, non-sustained ventricular tachycardia and the rate of rehospitalization in the observation group were higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05). Correlation analysis showed that HRT was negatively correlated with cardiovascular adverse events and re-hospitalization (P < 0.05).

Conclusion HRT phenomenon is correlated with the prognosis of HFpEF patients, and the reduction or disappearance of HRT phenomenon has certain predictive value for the occurrence of cardiovascular adverse events in HFpEF patients.