Heart Failure / physiopathology

IJCS

Editorial

Heart Failure – Pathophysiology and Current Therapeutic Implications

Mariana Vieira de Oliveira Bello et al. Fernando Bacal

The concept of translational medicine involves promoting the rapid transfer of observations made in the areas of research and pathophysiological understanding to the medical practice. This approach is a reality in major Brazilian research centers which link academia and clinical practice.

Heart failure (HF) is a complex syndrome that can manifest itself as heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), acute heart failure, or chronic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Here, we will cover the type of HF whose pathophysiology is understood the best and thus has disease-modifying treatments: HFrEF.

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Viewpoint

PARAGON-HF: Lessons Learned and Perspectives

José Francisco Kerr Saraiva et al. Isadora de Oliveira

An estimated 6.5 million Americans aged 20 and over have heart failure (HF) and projections show that the prevalence of HF will increase by 46% from 2012 to 2030, resulting in over 8 million people with HF.

Patients with HF can be stratified into different categories of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), presenting different phenotypes in terms of demographics, clinical presentation, etiology and outcomes. The current classification comprises HF with reduced ejection fraction (EF) [EF ≤ 40% (HFrEF)], with intermediate EF [EF 40-50% (HFiEF), and preserved EF [EF ≥ 50% (HFpEF).^,

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IJCS

Editorial

The Ejection Fraction Returns to Hyde Park Session's Speakers' Corner

Wolney de Andrade Martins et al. Antonio José Lagoeiro Jorge

The ejection fraction returns to Hyde Park Session’s Speakers’ Corner

About two decades ago, the Heart Failure Society of America created the Hyde Park Session at its annual meeting. The analogy with the free and innovative proposals that took place in the historic London park were transposed to that scientific event. One of the first proposals made there was the extinction of the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) as if it was an absolutist tyrant determining the life of his/her subjects. The proposition took no breath. The overwhelming majority of heart failure (HF) trials used LVEF as an inclusion criterion. The cutoff points varied. Magical numbers had little pathophysiological or clinical foundation. LVEF was measured by noninvasive methods, especially echocardiography, with high intra-and inter-examiner variability, dependent on preload and afterload changes.

Later, in 2001, a clinical entity was recognized, where acute pulmonary edema of cardiogenic cause occurred despite LVEF at levels above 50%. The following years saw incredulous initial acceptance until the epidemiological and clinical characterization of what we today call “heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF).” From rare, it became frequent, especially in primary care. Considered benign, the prognosis became almost as reserved as heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). There were different proposals for diagnosis, prognostic scores, but such evolution in the knowledge of HFpEF resulted in a frustrating succession of negative therapeutic trials.

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Original Article

Diagnostic and Prognostic Role of Liver Elastography in Heart Failure

Diane Xavier Ávila et al. Priscila Abreu Matos Gabriel Quintino Wolney de Andrade Martins … Dalmo Machado Claudio Tinoco Mesquita Humberto Villacorta Junior

Abstract

Background:

Hepatic congestion is a frequent finding in patients with heart failure (HF). Physical examination has limitations in quantifying systemic congestion and requires correlation with echocardiographic and laboratory data (usually B-type natriuretic peptide, BNP, or N-terminal pro-B type natriuretic peptide, NT-proBNP). Hepatic elastography evaluates liver stiffness using a transducer that transmits low-frequency vibrations (50 Hz), and the speed of shear waves propagating through the tissues is measured by ultrasound. The faster the vibrations propagate in the hepatic parenchyma, the stiffer the liver, which, in case of HF, can be correlated with hepatic congestion.

Objective:

In this systematic review, case-controls, cohort studies, and randomized clinical trials were searched in MEDLINE, LILACS and Cochrane Database of Systematic Review, to evaluate the use of elastography in the detection of hepatic congestion in patients with HF.

Methods:

From the 49 articles retrieved, seven were selected for review, according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The most used methods for the diagnosis and evaluation of HF were echocardiography combined with BNP and NT-proBNP measurements.

Results:

Elastography performed at bedside was able to establish a significant correlation between increased liver stiffness and increased venous capillary pressure. In addition, liver elastography performed at hospital discharge was able to predict rehospitalization and mortality.

Conclusion:

Liver elastography is a non-invasive method that can be useful in predicting prognosis and mortality of individuals with HF, contributing to the clinical management of these patients.

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Original Article

Heart Failure: An Overview of Morbidity and Mortality in Rio Grande do Sul

Carolina Zenilda Nicolao et al. Juliana Bischoff Ferreira Adriana Aparecida Paz Graciele Fernanda da Costa Linch … Marciane Rover Emiliane Nogueira de Souza

Abstract

Background:

Heart failure (HF) is the final pathway of most cardiac diseases. Although the prevalence of HF has increased, due to the ageing of the population, more comprehensive data have shown a reduction in the percentage of HF hospital admissions over the last years.

Objective:

Assess the morbidity and mortality of HF patients in Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul and Porto Alegre.

Method:

The study is a retrospective analysis of data from the Brazilian Unified Health System’s (Sistema Único de Saúde [SUS]) Department of Informatics (DataSUS). We evaluated the incidence of HF hospital admissions, the average length of stay, hospital costs and sex ratio, during a ten-year period (2007 to 2016). Due to availability of the system, mortality rate and age range, the total duration of the study was nine years.

Results:

Within this period, the percentage of hospitalizations for HF decreased. On the other hand, the length of stay increased in all regions studied. Mortality rates were in decline in all regions. Hospital costs showed an increase of 110.8%. HF was more prevalent in patients between the seventh and eighth decades of life, with men being more affected than women, except in Rio Grande do Sul.

Conclusion:

We conclude that, in spite of the high costs of HF to healthcare providers, hospitalizations and mortality rates have shown a significant decline over the last years, which results from the advances in the treatment of this disease, through initiatives to improve patient education, engagement and planning in health care and self-care.

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Original Article

Impact of Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting on Muscle Mass Reduction on the 7th Postoperative Day

Bárbara de Oliveira Costa et al. Gabrielle Maciel Ana Beatriz Huguenin Geisiane da Silva … Sheila Moreira da Silva Guimarães Wanise Maria de Souza Cruz Alexandre Siciliano Colanfranceschi Gilson Teles Boaventura

Abstract

Background:

Ischemic heart failure is a chronic and degenerative disease with high morbidity and mortality in the world. Coronary artery bypass grafting is indicated as elective treatment and may cause a catabolic state that depletes energy reserves. Data on body composition evaluation in the postoperative period of major cardiac surgery are limited.

Objective:

To evaluate the influence of elective coronary artery bypass grafting on body composition on the seventh postoperative day of patients with ischemic heart failure.

Methods:

A cross-sectional study was carried out in which eighteen volunteers with New York Heart Association Class II and III heart failure underwent coronary artery bypass grafting. The energy and protein reserves of the participants were evaluated by anthropometry in the preoperative and on the seventh postoperative day. Paired t-Test or Mann-Whitney test was used if applicable. A significance level was considered at p value < 0.05.

Results:

A significant loss of muscle mass was observed through the reduction of arm muscle circumference after surgery (4.2%, p 0.007). Major surgery causes hypermetabolic state and systemic inflammatory stimulus, due to the release of hormones and cytokines that may justify the observed loss of muscle mass.

Conclusion:

Coronary artery bypass grafting had an impact on muscle mass reduction seven days after surgery in patients with ischemic heart failure.

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Case Report

Fourteen Years’ Survival After Batista Operation: The Short History of a Long Journey

Gustavo Luiz Gouvêa de Almeida Junior et al. Waldir Jazbik Juliana Visconti Morgado Gustavo Luiz Gouvêa de Almeida

Abstract

A 41-year-old man with end-stage heart failure due to nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy was submitted to the Batista procedure as an alternative to heart transplantation. With surgery, the patient showed progressive clinical amelioration, achieving long-term stable NYHA functional class II, despite gradual dilation of the heart chambers. Persistent atrial fibrillation appeared on the last year of life, his clinical condition deteriorated, and the patient died 14 years, four months, and 13 days after the operation. To the best of our knowledge this seems to be the longest reported survival for a patient submitted to Batista operation.

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Original Article

Determinants of the Distance Covered During a Six-Minute Walk Test in Patients with Chronic Heart Failure

Elizabeth Rodrigues de Morais et al. Salvador Rassi

Abstract

Background:

The evaluation of the functional capacity of patients with chronic heart failure (HF) by means of the distance covered in the six-minute walk test (6MWT) has assumed great importance, since the 6MWD is a predictor of mortality and hospitalization in this population, however the determinants of better distance traveled in patients with HF are little explored, especially in the Brazilian population.

Objective:

To evaluate the determinants of 6MWD in patients with chronic HF.

Methods:

A cross-sectional study was performed with 81 HF patients in outpatient treatment. 6MWD was used as the outcome variable and sociodemographic, clinical, physical-functional and emotional data were submitted to multiple regression analysis using the stepwise method with a significance level of 5%.

Results:

Mean age of participants was 56.71 years; the 6MWD showed a bivariate correlation with age (r = -0.27, p = 0.01), maximal inspiratory pressure (r = 0.42, p < 0.01), maximal expiratory pressure (r = 0.36, p < 0.01), handgrip strength (r = 0.38, p < 0.01), Borg scale (-0.22, p = 0.04), Charlson index (r = -0.25, p = 0.02) and modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) dyspnea scale (r = -0.42, p < 0.01). In the multivariate analysis, the variables gender (p = 0.001), age (0.004), forced vital capacity (FVC) (p = 0.016) and mMRC (p = 0.001) simultaneously explained 37% of variance in the 6MWD.

Conclusion:

Higher levels of dyspnea on daily life activities, female sex, older age and lower forced vital capacity are determinants of a shorter 6MWD in patients with chronic HF.

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Review Article

Phenotype mapping of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction

Evandro Tinoco Mesquita et al. Debora Carvalho Grion Miguel Camargo Kubrusly Bernardo Barcelos Fernandes Fumagalli Silva Érico Araújo Reis Santos

Abstract

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFPEF) has become the main phenotypic model of heart failure (HF) in community and referral patients in Brazil and in the world. Despite advances in the development of new drugs for HF treatment, there has been no significant improvement in mortality of this condition.

According to many studies, this can be explained by the heterogeneous nature of HF physiopathology, whose basic mechanisms may result in different clinical presentations, culminating in the emerging of different phenogroups in this syndrome. In this context, phenotype mapping of HFPEF has emerged as a possible solution, since it enables the development of clinical trials that establish specific therapeutic strategies for each phenotypic profile.

New technologies in the field of artificial intelligence have enabled the assessment of a large volume of data and infer intrinsic patterns and different outcomes. Thereby, it is possible to obtain mutually exclusive categories of HFPEF, with a phenotype mapping of the syndrome and grouping of patients according to their phenotypic features. Besides, other diseases can have the same clinical phenotype but different pathophysiological basis, the so called “phenocopies”.

These tools enable the analysis and categorization of the wide spectrum of heart failure, contributing to solve the dilemmas of the treatment of this syndrome.

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