To investigate the value of soluble suppression of tumorigenicity-2 (sST2) in evaluating heart failure and predicting mid-term outcomes.

Totally 345 patients with heart failure hospitalized between December 2018 and June 2019 were enrolled, and then according to the median level of sST2, they were divided into a low sST2 group (172 patients, sST2 < 12.99 μg/L) and a high sST2 group (173 patients, sST2 ≥ 12.99 μg/L). The baseline data and endpoint events of cardiovascular and all-cause death were recorded for all patients. The survival curves for patients in both groups were drawn using the Kaplan-Meier method and the independent predictive value of sST2 for cardiovascular and all-cause mortality was evaluated using the Cox proportional hazards regression model.

Patients with heart failure in the high sST2 group had lower levels of left ventricular ejection fraction, more complicated coronary atherosclerotic heart diseases, and higher levels of hypersensitive troponin T and N-terminal pro-B type natriuretic peptide than those in the low sST2 group (all P < 0.05). As the New York Heart Association (NYHA) cardiac function classification increased, the sST2 level gradually increased (P < 0.001). With the all-cause and cardiovascular death as endpoints respectively, the postdischarge survival rates of patients in the high sST2 group were lower than those in the low sST2 group (χ² = 28.352, 28.461; both P < 0.001). Cox multivariate regression analysis showed that higher sST2 levels were associated with significantly increased risks of all-cause mortality [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.038, 95% confidence interval (CI) (1.022, 1.055), P < 0.001] and cardiovascular mortality [HR = 1.039, 95%CI (1.023, 1.055), P < 0.001] after adjusting for related risk factors.

Serum sST2 has good performance in evaluation of heart failure and prediction of mid-term outcomes. It might be a good biomarker for patients with heart failure.