Mode of presentation and mortality amongst patients hospitalized with heart failure? A report from the First Euro Heart Failure Survey

The Genetic Factors Influencing Cardiomyopathies and Heart Failure across the Allele Frequency Spectrum

Heart failure (HF) remains a major cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Understanding the genetic basis of HF allows for the development of disease-modifying therapies, more appropriate risk stratification, and personalised management of patients. The advent of next-generation sequencing has enabled genome-wide association studies; moving beyond rare variants identified in a Mendelian fashion and detecting common DNA variants associated with disease. We summarise the latest GWAS and rare variant data on mixed and refined HF aetiologies, and cardiomyopathies. We describe the recent understanding of the functional impact of titin variants and highlight FHOD3 as a novel cardiomyopathy-associated gene. We describe future directions of research in this field and how genetic data can be leveraged to improve the care of patients with HF.

Inflammation in acute heart failure

Acute heart failure (AHF) represents a common clinical scenario that requires prompt evaluation and therapy and that is characterized by a high risk of mortality or subsequent rehospitalizations. The pathophysiology leading to AHF decompensation is still not fully understood. Significant activation of inflammatory pathways has been identified in patients with AHF, particularly in its most severe forms, and it has been hypothesized that systemic inflammation has a role in AHF pathogenesis. Several inflammatory mediators and cytokines, such as high sensitivity C-reactive protein, tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6, interleukin-1, soluble suppression of tumorigenicity 2 and galectin-3, have been shown to play a role in the pathogenesis, development and worsening of this condition with an independent prediction of adverse outcomes. This manuscript reviews the prevalence and prognostic value of systemic inflammation in AHF, as well as the potential role of anti-inflammatory therapies, focusing on available evidence from clinical trials and ongoing studies.

Which congestion presentation pattern on the physical findings is associated with future adverse events? A cluster analysis in the multicenter acute heart failure registry

BACKGROUND

Clinical congestion is the most frequent reason for hospital admission in patients with acute heart failure (AHF). However, few studies have investigated the patterns and prognostic implication of the physical congestion using unbiased and robust statistical methods.

METHODS

A hierarchical agglomerative clustering analysis was performed in the multicenter Japanese AHF registry (N = 3151) with the distance calculated by Jaccard's distance for jugular vein distention (JVD), leg edema, S3, crackles, and orthopnea. The primary outcome was a composite of cardiac death and heart failure readmission within 1-year.

RESULTS

At the time of admission, the median number of prevalent congestive signs was 2. We identified three phenogroups: 'no physical congestions' (N = 251); 'congestion without JVD' (N = 1415); and 'congestion with JVD' (N = 1495). Patients in 'no physical congestion' were the youngest (median 75 [62, 83] years) with the lowest systolic blood pressure (122 [106, 142] mmHg). Patients in 'congestion without JVD', and 'congestion with JVD' were similar in terms of age (77 [67, 84] vs. 78 [69, 84] years) and systolic blood pressure (138 [118, 160] vs. 137 [118, 158] mmHg). While 30-day mortality was similar (4.0%, 3.7%, and 4.3% in 'no physical congestion,' 'congestion without JVD,' and 'congestion with JVD', respectively), the patients in 'congestion with JVD' were at the highest risk for the primary outcome (adjusted hazard ratio 1.79, 95% CI 1.26-2.55 when 'no physical congestion' was a reference).

CONCLUSIONS

Our clustering analysis demonstrated that congestion signs, particularly JVD, allowed identification of AHF phenogroups with distinct clinical characteristics and long-term outcomes.

Risk stratification in heart failure decompensation in the community: HEFESTOS score

Aims

Because evidence regarding risk stratification predicting prognosis of patients with heart failure (HF) decompensation attended in primary care is lacking, we developed and externally validated a model to forecast death/hospitalization during the first 30 days after an episode of decompensation. The predictive model is based on variables easily obtained in primary care settings.

Methods and results

HEFESTOS is a multinational study consisting of a derivation cohort of HF patients recruited in 14 primary healthcare centres in Barcelona and a validation cohort from primary healthcare in 9 other European countries. The derivation and validation cohorts included 561 and 250 patients, respectively. Percentages of women in the derivation and validation cohorts were 56.3% and 47.6% (P = 0.026), respectively. Mean age was 82.2 years (SD 8.03) in the derivation cohort, and 79.3 years (SD 10.3) in the validation one (P = 0.001). HF with preserved ejection fraction represented 72.1% in the derivation cohort and 58.8% in the validation one (P = 0.004). Mortality/hospitalization during the first 30 days after a decompensation episode was 30.5% and 26% (P = 0.225) for the derivation and validation cohorts, respectively. Multivariable logistic regression models were performed to develop a score of risk. The identified predictors were worsening of dyspnoea [odds ratio (OR): 2.5; P = 0.001], orthopnoea (OR: 2.16; P = 0.01), paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnoea (OR: 2.25; P = 0.01), crackles (OR: 2.35; P = 0.01), New York Heart Association functional class III/IV (OR: 2.11; P = 0.001), oxygen saturation ≤ 90% (OR: 4.98; P < 0.001), heart rate > 100 b.p.m. (OR: 2.72; P = 0.002), and previous hospitalization due to HF (OR: 2.45; P < 0.001). The model showed an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.807, 95% confidence interval (CI): [0.770; 0.845] in the derivation cohort and AUC 0.73, 95% CI: [0.660; 0.808] in the validation one. No significant differences between both cohorts were observed (P = 0.08). Regarding probability of hospitalization/death, three risk groups were defined: low <5%, medium 5–20%, and high >20%. Outcome incidence was 2.7% for the low‐risk group, 12.8% for medium risk, and 46.2% for high risk in the derivation cohort, and 9.1%, 12.9%, and 39.6% in the validation one.

Conclusions

The HEFESTOS score, based on variables easily accessible in a community setting and validated in an external European cohort, properly predicted the risk of death/hospitalization during the first 30 days after an HF decompensation episode.

The year in cardiology: heart failure

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Factors associated with in-hospital mortality and adverse outcomes during the vulnerable post-discharge phase after the first episode of acute heart failure: results of the NOVICA-2 study

OBJECTIVE

To identify patients at risk of in-hospital mortality and adverse outcomes during the vulnerable post-discharge period after the first acute heart failure episode (de novo AHF) attended at the emergency department.

METHODS

This is a secondary review of de novo AHF patients included in the prospective, multicentre EAHFE (Epidemiology of Acute Heart Failure in Emergency Department) Registry. We included consecutive patients with de novo AHF, for whom 29 independent variables were recorded. The outcomes were in-hospital all-cause mortality and all-cause mortality and readmission due to AHF within 90 days post-discharge. A follow-up check was made by reviewing the hospital medical records and/or by phone.

RESULTS

We included 3422 patients. The mean age was 80 years, 52.1% were women. The in-hospital mortality was 6.9% and was independently associated with dementia (OR = 2.25, 95% CI = 1.62-3.14), active neoplasia (1.97, 1.41-2.76), functional dependence (1.58, 1.02-2.43), chronic treatment with beta-blockers (0.62, 0.44-0.86) and severity of decompensation (6.38, 2.86-14.26 for high-/very high-risk patients). The 90-day post-discharge combined endpoint was observed in 19.3% of patients and was independently associated with hypertension (HR = 1.40, 1.11-1.76), chronic renal insufficiency (1.23, 1.01-1.49), heart valve disease (1.24, 1.01-1.51), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (1.22, 1.01-1.48), NYHA 3-4 at baseline (1.40, 1.12-1.74) and severity of decompensation (1.23, 1.01-1.50; and 1.64, 1.20-2.25; for intermediate and high-/very high-risk patients, respectively), with different risk factors for 90-day post-discharge mortality or rehospitalisation.

CONCLUSIONS

The severity of decompensation and some baseline characteristics identified de novo AHF patients at increased risk of developing adverse outcomes during hospitalisation and the vulnerable post-discharge phase, without significant differences in these risk factors according to patient age at de novo AHF presentation.

Acute heart failure: More questions than answers

Acute heart failure (AHF) is a life-threatening condition with a dramatic burden in terms of symptoms, morbidity and mortality. It is a specific syndrome requiring urgent, life-saving treatment. Multiple specific pathophysiologic mechanisms may be involved, including congestion, inflammation, and neurohormonal activation. This process eventually leads to symptoms, end-organ damage, and adverse outcomes. Clinical presentation varies, but it almost universally includes worsening of congestion associated with different degrees of hypoperfusion. Due to substantial early symptoms burden and high morbidity and mortality, patients with AHF require intensive monitoring and intravenous treatment. However, beyond variable improvement in congestion, none of the available intravenous therapies for AHF was shown to improve longer term outcomes. Although oral treatment with guideline-directed therapies for stable patients with HF and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) before discharge may fully prevent subsequent episodes, proof that this strategy may benefit patients is lacking. First, most patients with AHF have preserved EF (HFpEF) where no therapies have been shown to be effective. Second, all therapies developed for patients with HFrEF were tested for efficacy on outcomes in patients who were stable without recent AHF. Hence, the implementation of these chronic therapies during an AHF episode is untested. Third, the problem to better treat AHF patients in their early phase remains crucial with treatment strategies largely untested, yet. Further studies targeting AHF specific mechanisms, such as inflammation and end-organ damage, and finding effective intravenous drugs remain therefore warranted.

Does rhythm matter in acute heart failure? An insight from the British Society for Heart Failure National Audit

Background

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained arrhythmia in patients with acute heart failure (AHF). The presence of AF is associated with adverse prognosis in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) but little is known about its impact in AHF.

Methods

Data were collected between April 2007 and March 2013 across 185 (> 95%) hospitals in England and Wales from patients with a primary death or a discharge diagnosis of AHF. We investigated the association between the presence of AF and all-cause mortality during the index hospital admission, at 30 days and 1 year post-discharge.

Results

Of 96,593 patients admitted with AHF, 44,642 (46%) were in sinus rhythm (SR) and 51,951 (54%) in AF. Patients with AF were older (mean age 79.8 (79.7–80) versus 74.7 (74.5–74.7) years; p < 0.001), than those in SR. In a multivariable analysis, AF was independently associated with mortality at all time points, in hospital (HR 1.15, 95% CI 1.09–1.21, p < 0.0001), 30 days (HR 1.13, 95% CI 1.08–1.19, p < 0.0001), and 1 year (HR 1.09, 95% CI 1.05–1.12, p < 0.0001). In subgroup analyses, AF was independently associated with worse 30-day outcome irrespective of sex, ventricular phenotype and in all age groups except in those aged between 55 and 74 years.

Conclusion

AF is independently associated with adverse prognosis in AHF during admission and up to 1 year post-discharge. As the clinical burden of concomitant AF and AHF increases, further refinement in the detection, treatment and prevention of AF-related complications may have a role in improving patient outcomes.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1007/s00392-019-01463-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Association between atrial fibrillation and Helicobacter pylori

The connection between atrial fibrillation (AF) and H. pylori (HP) infection is still matter of debate. We performed a systematic review and metanalysis of studies reporting the association between AF and HF. A systematic review of all available reports in literature of the incidence of HP infection in AF and comparing this incidence with subjects without AF were analysed. Risk ratio and 95% confidence interval (CI) and risk difference with standard error (SE) were the main statistics indexes. Six retrospective studies including a total of 2921 were included at the end of the selection process. Nine hundred-fifty-six patients (32.7%) were in AF, whereas 1965 (67.3%) were in normal sinus rhythm (NSR). Overall, 335 of 956 patients with AF were HP positive (35%), whereas 621 were HP negative (65%). In addition, 643 of 1965 NSR patients (32.7%) were HP positive while 1,322 were negative (67.3%; Chi-square 2.15, p = 0.21). The Cumulative Risk Ratio for AF patients for developing an HP infection was 1.19 (95% CI 1.08–1.41). In addition, a small difference risk towards AF was found (0.11 [SE = 0.04]). Moreover, neither RR nor risk difference were influenced by the geographic area at meta-regression analysis. Finally, there was a weak correlation between AF and HP (coefficient = 0.04 [95% CI −0.01–0.08]). We failed to find any significant correlation between H. pylori infection and AF and, based on our data, it seems unlikely than HP can be considered a risk factor for AF. Further larger research is warranted.