Cardiac evaluation of renal transplant candidates with heart failure

Patients with advanced kidney disease are at elevated risk of developing heart failure and appropriate risk stratification is important to permit them to receive kidney transplantation.The American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology joint statement provides guidance on risk stratification for the major cause of heart failure for these patients in its recommendations for coronary heart disease.Herein we provide an overview of the available literature on risk strati-fication for nonischemic heart failure and functional heart disease states such as pulmonary hypertension.Many of these options for optimizing these patients be-fore transplant include optimizing their volume status,often with more agg-ressive ultrafiltration.Kidney transplantation remains the treatment of choice for patients with advanced kidney disease and cardiac disease,the correction of the azotemic substances with kidney transplantation has been associated with imp-roved survival than remaining on dialysis long-term.The findings in the studies reviewed here are expected to help clinicians refine current strategies for evalua-ting potential kidney transplant recipients.

Twin pregnancy with sudden heart failure and pulmonary hypertension after atrial septal defect repair: A case report

BACKGROUND Pulmonary arterial hypertension(PAH)in pregnancy is one of the major obstetric complications and is considered a contraindication to pregnancy as it is classified as a class IV risk in the revised risk classification of pregnancy by the World Health Organisation.Pregnancy,with its adaptive and expectant mechanical and hormonal changes,negatively affects the cardiopulmonary circulation in pregnant women.Do patients with repaired simple congenital heart disease(CHD)develop other pulmonary and cardiac complications during pregnancy?Can pregnant women with sudden pulmonary hypertension be treated and managed in time?In this paper,we present a case of a 39-year-old woman who underwent cesarean section at 33 wk'gestation and developed PAH secondary to repaired simple CHD.Our research began by a PubMed search for"pulmonary hypertension"and"pregnancy"and"CHD"case reports.Three cases were selected to review PAH in pregnancy after correction of CHD defects.These studies were reviewed,coupled with our own clinical experience.CASE SUMMARY Herein,a case involving a woman who underwent atrial septal defect repair at the age of 34,became pregnant five years later,and had a sudden onset of PAH and right heart failure secondary to symptoms of acute peripheral edema in the third trimester of her pregnancy.As a result,the patient underwent a cesarean section and gave birth to healthy twins.Within three days after cesarean delivery,her cardiac function deteriorated as the pulmonary artery pressure increased.Effec-tive postpartum management,including diuresis,significant oxygen uptake,vasodilators,capacity and anticoagulants management,led to improvements in cardiac function and oxygenation.The patient was discharged from hospital with a stable recovery and transferred to local hospitals for further PAH treatment.CONCLUSION This case served as a reminder to obstetricians of the importance of pregnancy after repair of CHD.It is crucial for patients with CHD to receive early correction.It suggests doctors should not ignore edema of twin pregnancy.Also,it provides a reference for the further standardization of antenatal,in-trapartum and postpartum management for patients with CHD worldwide.

Heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: Two for tea or tea for two?

A combination of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and heart failure (HF) is common yet it is inadequately and rarely recognized. Because of the similar clinical manifestations, comorbidity is frequently not considered and appropriate diagnostic tests are not performed. It is very important that a combination of COPD and HF is recognized as these patients have a worse prognosis than patients with an individual disease. When present, COPD should not prevent the use of life-saving therapy in patients with HF, particularly β-blockers. Despite clear evidence of the safety and tolerability of cardioselective β-blockers in COPD patients, these drugs remain grossly underprescribed and underdosed. Routine spirometry and echocardiography in HF and COPD patients, respectively, is therefore warranted to improve current clinical practice.

Hemodynamic monitoring in heart failure and pulmonary hypertension: From analog tracings to the digital age

Hemodynamic monitoring has long formed the cornerstone of heart failure(HF) and pulmonary hypertension diagnosis and management. We review the long history of invasive hemodynamic monitors initially using pulmonary artery(PA) pressure catheters in the hospital setting, to evaluating the utility of a number of implantable devices that can allow for ambulatory determination of intracardiac pressures. Although the use of indwelling PA catheters has fallen out of favor in a number of settings, implantable devices have afforded clinicians an opportunity for objective determination of a patient's volume status and pulmonary pressures. Some devices, such as the CardioM EMS and thoracic impedance monitors present as part of implantable cardiac defibrillators, are supported by a body of evidence which show the potential to reduce HF related morbidity and have received regulatory approval, whereas other devices have failed to show benefit and, in some cases, harm. Clearly these devices can convey a considerable amount of information and clinicians should start to familiarize themselves with their use and expect further development and refinement in the future.

Short-term outcomes in heart failure patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the community

AIM:To establish the short term outcomes of heart failure(HF)patients in the community who have concurrent chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD).METHODS:We evaluated 783 patients(27.2%)with left ventricular systolic dysfunction under the care of a regional nurse-led community HF team between June 2007 and June 2010 through a database analysis.RESULTS:One hundred and one patients(12.9%)also had a diagnosis of COPD;94% of patients were treated with loop diuretics,83% with angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors,74% with β-blockers;10.6% with bronchodilators;and 42% with aldosterone an-tagonists.The mean age of the patients was 77.9 ± 5.7 years;43% were female and mean New York Heart Association class was 2.3 ± 0.6.The mean follow-up was 28.2 ± 2.9 mo.β-blocker utilization was markedly lower in patients receiving bronchodilators compared with those not taking bronchodilators(overall 21.7% vs 81%,P < 0.001).The 24-mo survival was 93% in patients with HF alone and 89% in those with both comorbidities(P = not significant).The presence of COPD was associated with increased risk of HF hospitalization [hazard ratio(HR):1.56;95% CI:1.4-2.1;P < 0.001] and major adverse cardiovascular events(HR:1.23;95% CI:1.03-1.75;P < 0.001).CONCLUSION:COPD is a common comorbidity in ambulatory HF patients in the community and is a powerful predictor of worsening HF.It does not however appear to affect short-term mortality in ambulatory HF patients.

Ambulatory pulmonary artery pressure monitoring in advanced heart failure patients

Heart failure (HF) is an emerging epidemic associate with significant morbidity, mortality, and health care expenditure. Although there were major advances in pharmacologic and device based therapies for the management of HF, mortality of this condition remains high. Accurate monitoring of HF patients for exacerbations is very important to reduce recurrent hospitalizations and its associated complications. With the failure of clinical signs, tele-monitoring, and laboratory bio-markers to function as early markers of HF exacerbations, more sophisticated techniques were sought to accurately predict the circulatory status in HF patients in order to execute timely pharmacological intervention to reduce frequent hospitalizations. CardioMEMSTM (St. Jude Medical, Inc., Saint Paul, Minnesota) is an implantable, wireless pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP) monitoring system which transmits the patient’s continuous PAPs to the treating health care provider in the ambulatory setting. PAP-guided medical therapy modification has been shown to significantly reduce HF-related hospitalization and overall mortality. In advanced stages of HF, wireless access to hemodynamic information correlated with earlier left ventricular assist device implantation and shorter time to heart transplantation.

Increased ostial pulmonary vein diameter in congestive heart failure:a multi-slice computed tomography angiography evaluation

Background and Objectives The relationship between left atrial(LA)size and congestive heart failure(CHF)is well recognized;however,there is little information on the association of pulmonary vein(PV)diameter and CHF.The purpose of this study was to investigate the changes of PV and LA sizes in CHF patients by multislice computed tomography(MSCT)angiography using a new 64-slice scanner.Methods and Results We assessed diameters of PVs ostium and LA by 64-slice MSCT with three-dimensional reconstruction in 25 CHF patients and in 26 age-and sex-matched non-CHF controls.Compared with controls,CHF patients showed significant greater diameters of left superior pulmonary vein(LSPV)and right inferior pulmonary vein(RIPV)in both anteriorposterior(AP)and superior-inferior(SI)directions(P<0.01),significant dilation of right superior pulmonary vein(RSPV)in AP direction(P<0.05),as well as significant increase of LA transverse,AP,and SI diameters(P<0.01).Conclusion Significant dilation of PVs with simultaneous LA enlargement was demonstrated in CHF patients.This anatomic and geometric changes may participate in the perpetuation of AF.

Effect of ivabradine in the treatment of acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with heart failure

Objective: To observe the effectiveness and safety of ivabradine in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) and heart failure. Methods:Patients who were admitted to hospital with AECOPD during the period from August 2017 to July 2018. Then those both had heart failure with reduced ejection fraction(HFrEF) and a resting heart rate>70 beats/min were enrolled. A total of 86 cases were screened and completed, which were randomly divided into two groups for treatment. The control group(41 cases) received standard treatments, such as oxygen, anti-infection, anti-spasmodic, hormone, diuretic, ACEI/ARB, recombinant human brain natriuretic peptide (rhBNP), etc. The bisoprolol was given 2.5~5 mg orally once a day to control heart rate, and the test group(45 cases) was further treated with ivabradine 2.5~5 mg orally twice a day on the basis of the control group. The average heart rate, cardiac function, lung function, and 6-minute walking test were compared between the two groups. Results: After treatment, the average heart rate of the test group was lower than the control group, and the heart rate control rate(<70 beats/min%) of the test group was superior to the control group. The level of N-terminal B-type natriuretic peptide(NT-proBNP) in test group was significantly lower than that in control group. The distance of the 6-minute walking test in e test group was significantly longer than that in control group. Conclusion: Ivabradine combined with bisoprolol could help patients with AECOPD and heart failure to further reduce the heart rates, improve heart function and exercise tolerance. Moreover, the therapeutic safety was acceptable during the short term.

Effect of sequential assist-control ventilation on cardio-pulmonary function and systemic inflammatory state of chronic pulmonary heart disease complicated with respiratory failure patients

Objective:To discuss the effect of sequential assist-control ventilation on cardio-pulmonary function and systemic inflammatory state of chronic pulmonary heart disease complicated with respiratory failure patients.Method: A total of 90 cases of chronic pulmonary heart disease complicated with respiratory failure patients, who were treated in our hospital between May, 2012 and Feb., 2016, were selected, and were divided into study group (n=45) and control group (n=45) based on random number table. Patients in control group were given auxiliary - control ventilation. (A/C) treatment during the whole course, while patients in study group were given A/C+BiPAP treatment. Cardio-pulmonary function and serum inflammatory factor content difference was compared inboth groups before and after operation.Results: Before treatment, difference ofcardiac function indicator, ABG level and inflammatory factor content in both groups had no statistical significance. After treatment, cardiac function indicator (PASP, RVd) levels in both groups were lower than before treatment, and EFRV levels were higher than before treatment, and changes in study group were more obvious than that in control group;ABG indicator (PaO2) levels in both groups were higher than before treatment, and PaCO2 levels werelower than before treatment, and changes in study group were more obvious than that in control group;serum inflammatory factor (hs-CRP, IL-6, TNF-α) content in both groups was lower than before treatment, and changes in study group were more obvious than that in control group.Conclusion: sequential assist-control ventilation could optimize the cardio-pulmonary function of chronic pulmonary heart disease complicated with respiratory failure patients and reduce the systemic inflammatory response.

Tanreqing injection auxiliary in the treatment of heart failure with pulmonary infection:A systematic review

Objective:To systematically evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of Tanreqing injection in the treatment of heart failure complicated with pulmonary infection.Methods:The database of CNKI,SinoMed,VIP full text database,Wanfang database,Cochrance Library,Web of Science and PubMed were searched.The retrieval time was from the inception to August 2021.Clinical randomized controlled trial of Tanreqing injection in the treatment of heart failure complicated with pulmonary infection was collected,and two researchers independently screened the document data.Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.4.1 software.Results:A total of 10 documents were included,including 862 cases of heart failure complicated with pulmonary infection,including 431 cases in the test group,and 431 cases in the control group.The Meta analysis showed that compared to the control group,the test group increased clinical efficiency[OR=4.56,95%CI(2.79,7.52),P<0.00001],reduced the value of C-reactive protein[MD=-7.55,95%CI(-11.40,-3.69),P=0.0001],reduced the time required to correct heart failure[OR=-4.04,95%CI(-4.59,-3.49),P<0.00001],reduced the number of days of the average hospitalization[MD=-4.78,95%CI(-6.67,-2.89),P<0.00001],and there were no statistically significant differences in the incidence of adverse reactions.Conclusion:Tanreqing injection,as an auxiliary treatment for heart failure complicated with pulmonary infection,has significantly effective effect on improving efficiency.Tanreqing injection has a certain advantage in reducing C-creative protein values,shortening the time of correcting heart failure,and reducing the number of days of the average hospitalization,and the adverse reactions are smaller.However,the overall quality of the included studies is low,and more high-quality randomized controlled trials are needed to increase the evidence-based basis.

A Case of Pediatric Heart Failure Caused by Anomalous Origin of the Left Coronary Artery from the Pulmonary Artery: Case Report and Literature Review

A female patient aged 3 months and 10 days was admitted to the cardiology department because of symptoms of heart failure.According to the echocardiography results,the patient received a diagnosis of primary endocardial fi broelastosis and was treated withγ-globulin,prednisone,digoxin,and diuretics.Coronary computed tomographic angiography and coronary angiography were performed as there was no improvement after 2 months of treatment.Finally,the patient received a diagnosis of anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery(ALCAPA).ALCAPA is a rare congenital heart defect that can cause severe heart failure during infancy,and is easily misdiagnosed clinically.In this report,we show the process of misdiagnosis of the case and consult the relevant literature,hoping to improve the understanding and early diagnosis of ALCAPA.

Aorto-Pulmonary Window, an Unrecognized Cause of Heart Failure in Infants: A Case Report

Introduction: The aorto-pulmonary window is a rare congenital heart disease. It is a defect between the ascending aorta and the trunk of the pulmonary artery upstream of the pulmonary bifurcation. Once the diagnosis is made, surgery must be performed quickly to avoid progression to pulmonary arteriolitis. We report the case of a 4-month-old infant in whom we made the diagnosis of aorto-pulmonary window type I. He was able to benefit from an open heart surgery at FES with an excellent result after closing the window. Conclusion: The aorto-pulmonary window is a rare congenital heart defect, the diagnosis of which must be made as early as possible in order to avoid the progression to pulmonary hypetension and heart failure.

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.

Effectiveness of chest radiography,lung ultrasound and thoracic computed tomography in the diagnosis of congestive heart failure

Hydrostatic pulmonary edema is as an abnormal in-crease in extravascular water secondary to elevatedpressure in the pulmonary circulation, due to conges-tive heart failure or intravascular volume overload.Diagnosis of hydrostatic pulmonary edema is usuallybased on clinical signs associated to conventional ra-diography findings. Interpretation of radiologic signsof cardiogenic pulmonary edema are often question-able and subject. For a bedside prompt evaluation,lung ultrasound(LUS) may assess pulmonary conges-tion through the evaluation of vertical reverberationartifacts, known as B-lines. These artifacts are relatedto multiple minimal acoustic interfaces between smallwater-rich structures and alveolar air, as it happens incase of thickened interlobular septa due to increase of extravascular lung water. The number, diffusion and in-tensity of B lines correlates with both the radiologic andinvasive estimate of extravascular lung water. The inte-gration of conventional chest radiograph with LUS canbe very helpful to obtain the correct diagnosis. Com-puted tomography(CT) is of limited use in the work upof cardiogenic pulmonary edema, due to its high cost,little use in the emergencies and radiation exposure.However, a deep knowledge of CT signs of pulmonaryedema is crucial when other similar pulmonary condi-tions may occasionally be in the differential diagnosis.

Non-invasive home lung impedance monitoring in early post-acute heart failure discharge: Three case reports

BACKGROUND Patients discharged after hospitalization for acute heart failure(AHF) are frequently readmitted due to an incomplete decongestion, which is difficult to assess clinically. Recently, it has been shown that the use of a highly sensitive,non-invasive device measuring lung impedance(LI) reduces hospitalizations for heart failure(HF); it has also been shown that this device reduces the cardiovascular and all-cause mortality of stable HF patients when used in longterm out-patient follow-ups. The aim of these case series is to demonstrate the potential additive role of non-invasive home LI monitoring in the early postdischarge period.CASE SUMMARY We present a case series of three patients who had performed daily LI measurements at home using the edema guard monitor(EGM) during 30 d after an episode of AHF. All patients had a history of chronic ischemic HF with a reduced ejection fraction and were hospitalized for 6–17 d. LI measurements were successfully made at home by patients with the help of their caregivers. The patients were carefully followed up by HF specialists who reacted to the values of LI measurements, blood pressure, heart rate and clinical symptoms. LI reduction was a more frequent trigger to medication adjustments compared to changes in symptoms or vital signs. Besides, LI dynamics closely tracked the use and dose of diuretics.CONCLUSION Our case series suggests non-invasive home LI monitoring with EGM to be a reliable and potentially useful tool for the early detection of congestion or dehydration and thus for the further successful stabilization of a HF patient after a worsening episode.

Advances in Research on Treatment of Heart Failure with Yangxinshi Tablet

The advances in the treatment of heart failure with Yangxinshi tablet are reviewed in this paper.Yangxinshi tablet has effects of nourishing myocardia,improving myocardial metabolism,reducing myocardial oxygen consumption,dilating coronary artery,improving cardiac blood supply,reducing blood viscosity and improving microcirculation,and it can improve the functions of heart and curative effect of heart failure.

Animal models of pulmonary hypertension due to left heart disease

Pulmonary hypertension due to left heart disease(PH-LHD) is regarded as the most prevalent form of pulmonary hypertension(PH). Indeed, PH is an independent risk factor and predicts adverse prognosis for patients with left heart disease(LHD). Clinically, there are no drugs or treatments that directly address PH-LHD, and treatment of LHD alone will not also ameliorate PH. To target the underlying physiopathological alterations of PH-LHD and to develop novel therapeutic approaches for this population, animal models that simulate the pathophysiology of PH-LHD are required. There are several available models for PH-LHD that have been successfully employed in rodents or large animals by artificially provoking an elevated pressure load on the left heart, which by transduction elicits an escalated pressure in pulmonary artery. In addition, metabolic derangement combined with aortic banding or vascular endothelial growth factor receptor antagonist is also currently applied to reproduce the phenotype of PH-LHD. As of today, none of the animal models exactly recapitulates the condition of patients with PH-LHD. Nevertheless, the selection of an appropriate animal model is essential in basic and translational studies of PH-LHD. Therefore, this review will summarize the characteristics of each PH-LHD animal model and discuss the advantages and limitations of the different models.

Correlation analysis between lung ultrasound scores and pulmonary arterial systolic pressure in patients with acute heart failure admitted to the emergency intensive care unit

Background:No convenient,inexpensive,and non-invasive screening tools exist to identify pulmonary hypertension(PH)-left heart disease(LHD)patients during the early stages of the disease course.This study investigated whether different methods of lung ultrasound(LUS)could be used for the initial investigation of PH-LHD.Methods:This was a single-center prospective observational study which was performed in the Zigong Fourth People’s Hospital.We consecutively enrolled patients with heart failure(HF)admitted to the emergency intensive care unit from January 2018 to May 2020.Transthoracic echocardiography and LUS were performed within 24 h before discharge.We used the Spearman coefficient for correlation analysis between ultrasound scores and pulmonary arterial systolic pressure(PASP).Bland-Altman plots were generated to inspect possible bias,and receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves were calculated to assess the relationship between ultrasound scores and an intermediate and high echocardiographic probability of PH-LHD.Results:Seventy-one patients were enrolled in this study,with an overall median age of 79(interquartile range:71.5–84.0)years.Among the 71 patients,36(50.7%)cases were male,and 26(36.6%)had an intermediate and high echocardiographic probability of PH.All four LUS scores in patients with an intermediate and high probability of PH were significantly higher than in patients with a low probability of PH(P<0.05).The correlation coefficient(r)between different LUS scoring methods and PASP was moderate for the 6-zone(r=0.455,P<0.001),8-zone(r=0.385,P=0.001),12-zone(r=0.587,P<0.001),and 28-zone(r=0.535,P<0.001)methods.In Bland-Altman plots,each of the four LUS scoring methods had a good agreement with PASP(P<0.001).The 8-zone and 12-zone methods showed moderately accurate discriminative values in differentiating patients with an intermediate and high echocardiographic probability of PH(P<0.05).

Long-term Efficacy of Pulmonary Artery Desnervation Treatment in Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction:A Subgroup Analysis of 3-year Results From the PADN-5 Study

Objective:The Pulmonary Arterial Denervation in Patients With Pulmonary Hypertension Associated With the Left Heart Failure(PADN-5)study proved that pulmonary artery denervation(PADN)is associated with significant improvements in hemodynamic and clinical outcomes in patients with combined pre-and post-capillary pulmonary hypertension(CpcPH).This study aimed to assess the 3-year clinical results of PADN in patients who had heart failure with preserved ejection fraction(HFpEF)developing into CpcPH(HFpEF-CpcPH).Methods:In this post hoc analysis of the PADN-5 trial,38 patients with HFpEF were included in screening out of 98 patients with CpcPH who were randomly assigned to treatment with sildenafil and sham PADN(sham PADN(plus sildenafil)group,abbreviated as sham group)or PADN(PADN group).HFpEF in the PADN-5 trial was defined as a left ventricular ejection fraction≥50%,and CpcPH was defined as a mean pulmonary arterial pressure≥25 mmHg,a pulmonary arterial wedge pressure>15 mmHg,and a pulmonary vascular resistance>3.0 WU.The changes in the 6-minute walk distance(6-MWD)and the plasma concentration of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide(NT-proBNP)at 6-month and 3-year follow-up,as well as the clinical endpoint of the occurrence of clinical worsening,defined as cardiopulmonary-related death,rehospitalization,or heart or lung transplantation at 3-year follow-up were examined.Results:Thirty-eight patients with HFpEF-CpcPH were assigned to the PADN group(n=19)or the sham group(n=19).At the 6-month follow-up,6-MWD(433(275,580)m vs.342(161,552)m),and reductions in NT-proBNP(−47%(−99%,331%)vs.−12%(−82%,54%))were significantly improved in the PADN group(all P<0.05).Over the 3-year follow-up period,PADN treatment resulted in marked increases in 6-MWD(450(186,510)m vs.348(135,435)m)and reductions in NT-proBNP(−55%(−99%,38%)vs.−10%(−80%,95%))(all P<0.05).Clinical worsening was experienced by 12 patients(63%)in the sham group,but by only 5 patients(26%)in the PADN group(hazard ratio=0.149,95%confidence interval:0.038–0.584,P=0.006).The 6-MWD and PADN treatments were independent predictors of clinical deterioration in patients with HFpEF-CpcPH.Conclusions:PADN therapy is associated with improvements in exercise capacity and clinical outcomes.PADN therapy may have a potential role in patients with HFpEF-CpcPH for whom current treatment options are limited.