Shortness of breath in clinical practice: A case for left atrial function and exercise stress testing for a comprehensive diastolic heart failure workup

The symptom cluster of shortness of breath(SOB) contributes significantly to the outpatient workload of cardiology services. The workup of these patients includes blood chemistry and biomarkers, imaging and functional testing of the heart and lungs. A diagnosis of diastolic heart failure is inferred through the exclusion of systolic abnormalities, a normal pulmonary function test and normal hemoglobin, coupled with diastolic abnormalities on echocardiography. Differentiating confounders such as obesity or deconditioning in a patient with diastolic abnormalities is difficult. While the most recent guidelines provide more avenues for diagnosis, such as incorporating the left atrial size, little emphasis is given to understanding left atrial function, which contributes to at least 25% of diastolic left ventricular filling; additionally, exercise stress testing to elicit symptoms and test the dynamics of diastolic parameters, especially when access to the "gold standard" invasive tests is lacking, presents clinical translational gaps. It is thus important in diastolic heart failure work up to understand left atrial mechanics and the role of exercise testing to build a comprehensive argument for the diagnosis of diastolic heart failure in a patient presenting with SOB.

Understanding heart failure in the elderly with respect to diastolic dysfunction and role for natriuretic peptides

The current issue of the Journal of Geriatric Cardiology contains an interesting paper by Dr. Yixin Song and colleagues raising important issues in the diagnosis and management of heart failure in elderly patients. Readers of this journal are in all likelihood aware that the epidemic of heart failure is of great impact medically and economically worldwide.

Diagnosis and treatment of heart failure with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction

Nearly six million people in United States have heart failure.Fifty percent of these people have normal left ventricular(LV)systolic heart function but abnormal diastolic function due to increased LV myocardial stiffness.Most commonly,these patients are elderly women with hypertension,ischemic heart disease,atrial fibrillation,obesity,diabetes mellitus,renal disease,or obstructive lung disease.The annual mortality rate of these patients is 8%-12%per year.The diagnosis is based on the history,physical examination,laboratory data,echocardiography,and,when necessary,by cardiac catheterization.Patients with obesity,hypertension,atrial fibrillation,and volume overload require weight reduction,an exercise program,aggressive control of blood pressure and heart rate,and diuretics.Miniature devices inserted into patients for pulmonary artery pressure monitoring provide early warning of increased pulmonary pressure and congestion.If significant coronary heart disease is present,coronary revascularization should be considered.

Marked elevation of B-type natriuretic peptide in patients with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction

Marked elevations of B-type natriuretic peptide （BNP） are not generally seen in patients with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction （HFpEF）. The objective of this study was to examine the clinical and laboratory characteristics of a large cohort of patients with HFpEF and markedly elevated BNP. A retrospective examination of 421 inpatients at a university hospital admitted with a diagnosis of HFpEF was performed. Clinical and echocardiographic data in 4 groups of patients with levels of BNP ≤ 100 pg/mL, 100-400 pg/mL, 400-1,000 pg/mL and 〉 1,000 pg/mL were compared. Patients with HFpEF and BNP 〉 1,000 pg/mL （28% of the population） were characterized by impaired renal function and greater use of anti-hypertensive medications. A subset of these patients with BNP 〉 1,000 pg/mL had normal renal function （21%） and were significantly older, more frequently female, and tended to have lower ejection fractions. Conversely, patients with HFpEF and BNP ≤100 pg/mL were younger and had preserved renal function. BNP was inversely related to the likelihood of subsequent admission for heart failure, but not to myocardial infarction or death. In conclusion： BNP 〉 1,000 pg/mL is seen in almost 1/3 of patients hospitalized with HFpEF. This elevation of BNP often reflects impaired renal function, but can also be seen in patients with preserved renal function but relatively impaired systolic function.

Forensic interrogation of diabetic endothelitis in cardiovascular diseases and clinical translation in heart failure

Diabetic heart disease(DHD)can be classified as a primary consequence from several pathophysiological manifestation of diabetes mellitus(DM)on cardiac tissues or secondarily in extracardiac tissues and is encountered as either primary or secondary complications of DM.Endothelitis is inflammation of the vascular endothelium and is likely to be seen in the majority of patients who start to manifest an end organ complication of DM in this case DHD.Diabetes is a leading cause for many cardiovascular syndromes and diseases including congestive heart failure(CHF)however much remains unknown about the transition from diagnosed DM to clinical state and the contribution of the various mechanical and counterregulatory systems in the manifested complaint.Diastolic heart failure or heart failure with preserved ejection fraction(DHF/HFpEF),accounts for half of all CHF presentations,has DM as a major contributor,however,there remain large gaps in clinical and pathophysiological understanding.This review aims to explore the microscopic aspects in diabetic endothelitis and provide a clinical link to with context to HFpEF.

Thirty-day readmission in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction:Insights from the nationwide readmission database

BACKGROUND There are rising numbers of patients who have heart failure with preserved ejection fraction(HFpEF).Poorly understood pathophysiology of heart failure with preserved and reduced ejection fraction and due to a sparsity of studies,the management of HFpEF is challenging.AIM To determine the hospital readmission rate within 30 d of acute or acute on chronic heart failure with preserved ejection fraction and its effect on mortality and burden on health care in the United States.METHODS We performed a retrospective study using the Agency for Health-care Research and Quality Health-care Cost and Utilization Project,Nationwide Readmissions Database for the year 2017.We collected data on hospital readmissions of 60514 adults hospitalized for acute or acute on chronic HFpEF.The primary outcome was the rate of all-cause readmission within 30 d of discharge.Secondary outcomes were cause of readmission,mortality rate in readmitted and index patients,length of stay,total hospitalization costs and charges.Independent risk factors for readmission were identified using Cox regression analysis.RESULTS The thirty day readmission rate was 21%.Approximately 9.17%of readmissions were in the setting of acute on chronic diastolic heart failure.Hypertensive chronic kidney disease with heart failure(1245;9.7%)was the most common readmission diagnosis.Readmitted patients had higher in-hospital mortality(7.9%vs 2.9%,P=0.000).Our study showed that Medicaid insurance,higher Charlson co-morbidity score,patient admitted to a teaching hospital and longer hospital stay were significant variables associated with higher readmission rates.Lower readmission rate was found in residents of small metropolitan or micropolitan areas,older age,female gender,and private insurance or no insurance were associated with lower risk of readmission.CONCLUSION We found that patients hospitalized for acute or acute on chronic HFpEF,the thirty day readmission rate was 21%.Readmission cases had a higher mortality rate and increased healthcare resource utilization.The most common cause of readmission was cardio-renal syndrome.

Multi-Institutional US Experience of the Occlutech AFR Device in Congenital and Acquired Heart Disease

Objectives:To detail the US multi-institutional experience with the Occlutech©(Occlutech International AB,Helsingborg,Sweden)atrial flow regulator(AFR)in children and adults with acquired or congenital heart disease.Background:The creation of a long-term atrial communication is desirable in several cardiovascular disease phenotypes,most notably pulmonary arterial hypertension,disorders of increased left ventricular filling and increased cavopulmonary pressures in patients with a Fontan type circulation.Methods:Patients were identified for inclusion from the AFR device manufacturer database.Data was collected using a RedCap database following IRB approval.8 weeks of follow up data was sought for each patient based on available data.Data was analyzed and summarized using SPSS.Results:We report the experience of 6 US centers in the implantation of AFR devices in 15 patients,across a wide age range,with different disease phenotypes and a variety of indications.Implantation was technically successful in all patients and improvement was noted in both clinical and hemodynamic parameters.There were no immediate or intermediate term complications reported.3 patients died remote from implantation.Their deaths were not felt to be related to the AFR device or related procedural complications.Conclusion:Compassionate use of the AFR device in children and adults with congenital&acquired heart disease is technically feasible and produces beneficial short term hemodynamic and symptomatic improvement.Widespread uptake of this technique and treatment at specialist centers has the potential to provide significant benefits to a variety of complex patients with currently limited treatment options and indeterminate prognosis.

Diagnosis and treatment of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction

Heart failure, a primary worldwide public health burden, is a complicated clinical syndrome manifested in hemodynamic and symptomatic changes. There are 2 subtypes of heart failure, with ejection frac- tion preserved （HFpEF） and reduced （HFrEF）. The morbidity of HFpEF derived from epidemic data accounts for 50% of total HF patients which is expected to continuously increase with the increase of elderly population in the future. The relevant risk factors for HFpEF include aging, female gender, hypertension, ischemic heart dis- ease, atrial fibrillation and diabetes mellitus. The essence of HFpEF is recognized as an increase in left ventricu- lar filling pressure implicated in certain interlinked physiological systems. The treatments are mainly aimed to re- lieve the symptoms and control risk factors such as anti-hypertension, prevention of myocardial ischaemia, ve- nous pressure reduction, management of atrial fibrillation and management of diabetes. In addition, some new treatments are being tested in clinical trails such as phosphodiesterase-5 （PDE5） inhibitor, tetrahydrobiopterin （BH4）, late Na current inhibitor, cardiac resynchronization therapy and angiotensin receptor neprilysin inhibitor LCZ696. Here, we briefly review the diagnosis and treatment in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.