Serum Copper Level in Patients with Heart Failure and its Related Factors

Background: Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) is a debilitating disorder that affects 1-2% of the general population. Despite recent advances in the management of heart failure, symptomatic heart failure still has a poor prognosis, so the importance of evaluating these patients is emphasized. The micronutrients are not produced in the body, but they should be taken in the required amount of diet, and their required amount is generally less than 100 mg per day. Copper deficiency leads to hypertrophic cardiomyopathies in several experimental models, which ultimately leads to systolic and diastolic cardiac function impairment. Copper deficiency is the only nutritional factor that increases cholesterol, blood pressure, homocysteine, and uric acid, leads to glucose intolerance, and increases thrombotic and oxidative damage. Objectives: The aim of this assessment is to examine the serum copper level in patients with Heart failure hospitalized in Rajaie Cardiovascular, Medical and Research Center and its related factors in the period of 2017-18. Methods: This as a prospective descriptive study conducted on patients with heart failure hospitalized in Rajaee Cardiovascular, Medical and Research Center. Research variables included serum copper level, Pro-BNP serum level, heart failure etiology, Seattle Heart Failure Model (SHFM), age, gender, BMI, history of diabetes, history of airway disease, duration of heart failure diagnosis, smoking, presence of shortness of breath, the amount of ejection fraction (EF), initial blood pressure, serum hemoglobin levels, white blood cell count, creatinine, cholesterol, sodium and uric acid. Accordingly, 80 patients with heart failure have been evaluated and the results of the evaluation of patients have been put together based on the aims of the study. Results: Of the evaluated cases, there were 52 (65%) male and 35 (28%) female. The mean and standard deviation of the patients' age was 49.9 ± 16.2 years, also the mean and standard deviation of serum copper was 189.28 ± 58.3 (range:80-150). The evaluated indices in this study included severe NYHA (P = 0.90), ejection fraction (EF) in echocardiography (P = 0.40), serum Pro BNP (P = 0.45) and prognosis of disease according to Seattle Heart Failure Model (P = 0.63), because non of the patients copper serum level were under the baseline we could not found statistically significant relationship between serum copper level and EF, pro BNP, NYHA function class and prognosis of the disease according to Seattle Heart failure model, while there was a significant statistical relationship between serum copper levels and etiology of heart failure (P = 0.02). Conclusions: Copper does not have a significant effect on the status of patients with heart failure, and only some differences were observed in the etiology of heart failure.