Reduced cerebral tissue oxygen delivery has been proposed as a marker of disease severity in HF, but its prognostic value remains uncertain. A study published in Heart evaluated whether resting SctO₂ predicts all-cause mortality and rehospitalisation risk in patients with HF.

The analysis included 102 patients with HF, with a mean age of 70.2 ± 12.4 years; 21.6% were women. Resting cerebral tissue oxygen saturation was measured using near-infrared spectroscopy. Adjusted Cox regression models examined associations between SctO₂ and all-cause mortality as well as first-of-any rehospitalisation after discharge. Multivariable linear and logistic regression analyses assessed associations between physical activity and SctO₂.

During a median follow-up of 830 days for mortality and 208 days for rehospitalisation, 31 patients (30.4%) died and 63 patients (61.8%) experienced at least one rehospitalisation. Higher resting SctO₂ was associated with a significantly lower risk of all-cause mortality (hazard ratio 0.86; 95% confidence interval 0.77–0.95; p = 0.002). Resting SctO₂ showed no significant association with first rehospitalisation risk (hazard ratio 0.96; 95% confidence interval 0.90–1.02; p = 0.162).

Physical inactivity, defined as no more than one hour per week of strenuous activity, was independently associated with lower resting SctO₂ (β −1.56; 95% confidence interval −3.07 to −0.05; p = 0.043).

These findings indicate that lower cerebral tissue oxygen saturation is associated with higher mortality risk in HF, while no association was observed with rehospitalisation. The results support further evaluation of cerebral tissue oxygen saturation as a prognostic marker in larger, well-characterized cohorts.