FIGURE 4. Comparison of prevalence (left) and annual rate of fatal pump failure (right) when patients were classified into 4 groups using the thresholds of a plasma BNP level of 172 pg/mL and an HMR of 1.74. The group of patients who had both a plasma BNP level of 172 pg/mL and an HMR of 1.74 had significantly greater event rates than those of the other 3 groups not only when all 158 patients were considered (A) but also when 127 patients who had an LVEF of <50% were considered for this analysis (B). *P < 0.05 vs. the other 3 groups.