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Figure 1 Telomere Length in Control Patients and CHF Patients

Telomere length, expressed as the natural log (Ln) of the telomere to single reference gene (T/S) ratio, is plotted as a function of age. The median telomere length was 0.64 (interquartile range [IQR] 0.47 to 0.88) in chronic heart failure (CHF) patients compared with 1.05 (IQR 0.86 to 1.29) in control patients (p < 0.001). Yearly decline of telomere length ratio was 0.0079 ± 0.0022 in CHF patients and 0.0077 ± 0.0026 in control patients (p = NS). Linear regression line and mean 95% confidence interval lines are drawn for CHF patients and control patients. Solid squares = controls; open circles = CHF.