AHA Scientific Sessions 2026 AbstractNov 7, 2026, 00:59 GMT

Two immune proteins linked to later heart failure risk

An observational study of adults assessed at average ages 57 and 75 linked two anti-inflammatory blood proteins to later heart failure hospitalizations.

Paper by Iman A.F. Aboelsaad, Brian Lee Claggett, Michael P. Bancks, +10Leo Francis Buckley · Alexandria University · The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

Heart cross-sections beside blood cells and proteins, with an enlarged dark blue-green heart near dense proteins and a smaller gray heart near sparse proteins.

Our read

Biomarkers

Studied:: Cohort study of adults, 10 years
What changed:: Risk of heart failure hospitalization was higher with higher levels of PD-L1 and IL-18BP
The catch:: Pre-existing inflammation or early heart changes may confound the link to heart failure
In the record:: One of 5 papers on IL-18BP on record: 2 with results in people.
Why it’s aging research:: It bears on staying healthy in midlife and later life.

Editor of record: Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News

Paper

Participants in the observational Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study averaged 57 years at the earlier assessment and 75 at the later one; 57% were women. Researchers tested 20 anti-inflammatory blood proteins against heart failure hospitalizations over 10 years after the earlier assessment, then tested those links using the later assessment.

Higher levels of two anti-inflammatory proteins, PD-L1 and IL-18BP, were associated with later heart failure hospitalization. PD-L1 had a stronger link to heart failure with reduced ejection fraction—the share of blood pumped out per beat. IL-18BP had a stronger link to heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. Higher PD-L1 also tracked with lower ejection fraction. Higher IL-18BP tracked with a larger left atrium, the heart’s upper left chamber.

Why it matters

Heart failure in later life raises questions about the role of the body’s anti-inflammatory responses. The authors suggest that higher protein levels may reflect an attempt to dampen chronic inflammation.

Caveats

People with higher protein levels may already have had inflammation or early heart changes that also predicted later hospitalization. The results were reported in a conference abstract.