Management of Acute Hypertensive Heart Failure

Blood pressure and heart failure: focused on treatment

Heart failure (HF) remains a significant global health burden, and hypertension is known to be the primary contributor to its development. Although aggressive hypertension treatment can prevent heart changes in at-risk patients, determining the optimal blood pressure (BP) targets in cases diagnosed with HF is challenging owing to insufficient evidence. Notably, hypertension is more strongly associated with HF with preserved ejection fraction than with HF with reduced ejection fraction. Patients with acute hypertensive HF exhibit sudden symptoms of acute HF, especially those manifested with severely high BP; however, no specific vasodilator therapy has proven beneficial for this type of acute HF. Since the majority of medications used to treat HF contribute to lowering BP, and BP remains one of the most important hemodynamic markers, targeted BP management is very concerned in treatment strategies. However, no concrete guidelines exist, prompting a trend towards optimizing therapies to within tolerable ranges, rather than setting explicit BP goals. This review discusses the connection between BP and HF, explores its pathophysiology through clinical studies, and addresses its clinical significance and treatment targets.

Clinical Review of Hypertensive Acute Heart Failure

Although acute heart failure (AHF) is a common disease associated with significant symptoms, morbidity and mortality, the diagnosis, risk stratification and treatment of patients with hypertensive acute heart failure (H-AHF) still remain a challenge in modern medicine. Despite great progress in diagnostic and therapeutic modalities, this disease is still accompanied by a high rate of both in-hospital (from 3.8% to 11%) and one-year (from 20% to 36%) mortality. Considering the high rate of rehospitalization (22% to 30% in the first three months), the treatment of this disease represents a major financial blow to the health system of each country. This disease is characterized by heterogeneity in precipitating factors, clinical presentation, therapeutic modalities and prognosis. Since heart decompensation usually occurs quickly (within a few hours) in patients with H-AHF, establishing a rapid diagnosis is of vital importance. In addition to establishing the diagnosis of heart failure itself, it is necessary to see the underlying cause that led to it, especially if it is de novo heart failure. Given that hypertension is a precipitating factor of AHF and in up to 11% of AHF patients, strict control of arterial blood pressure is necessary until target values are reached in order to prevent the occurrence of H-AHF, which is still accompanied by a high rate of both early and long-term mortality.

Valvular Heart Disease Presenting as Sympathetic Crashing Acute Pulmonary Edema (SCAPE) Phenomenon: A Diagnostic and Management Paradigm

Sympathetic crashing acute pulmonary edema (SCAPE) is an acute decompensated heart failure due to sympathetic overflow. SCAPE is usually triggered by acute insults with an underlying substrate such as long-standing hypertension, chronic heart failure, and valvular heart disease. We present a case of SCAPE in a 91-year-old female due to underlying multivalvular heart disease. Because of severe acute presentation, SCAPE should be identified early, and management should be urgently done to decrease the need for invasive ventilation and prolonged hospitalization.

Right and left ventricular structures and functions in acute HFpEF: comparing the hypertensive pulmonary edema and worsening heart failure phenotypes

BACKGROUND

Limited data are available on right (RV) and left (LV) ventricular structures and functions in acute heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (AHF-pEF) presenting with hypertensive pulmonary edema (APE) versus predominant peripheral edema (peHF).

METHODS AND RESULTS

In a prospective study of consecutive patients with AHF-pEF, 80 patients met inclusion and not exclusion criteria, and underwent echocardiographic and laboratory examination in the emergency ward. The survived (94%) were re-evaluated at the discharge. At admission, systolic, diastolic, pulse blood pressure (BP), and high sensitivity troponin I were higher (all P < 0.05) with APE than with peHF while brain-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), hemoglobin and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) did not differ between the two phenotypes. LV volumes and EF were comparable between APE and peHF, but APE showed lower relative wall thickness (RWT), smaller left atrial (LA) volume, higher pulse pressure/stroke volume (PP/SV), and higher ratio between the peak velocities of the early diastolic waves sampled by traditional and tissue Doppler modality (mitral E/e', all P < 0.05). Right ventricular and atrial (RA) areas were smaller, tricuspid anular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) and estimated pulmonary artery peak systolic pressure (sPAP) were higher with APE than with peHF (all P < 0.05) while averaged degree of severity of tricuspid insufficiency was greater with peHF than with APE. At discharge, PP/SV, mitral E/e', sPAP, RV sizes were reduced from admission in both phenotypes (all P < 0.05) and did not differ anymore between phenotypes, whereas LV EF and TAPSE did not show significant changes over time and treatments.

CONCLUSION

In AHF-pEF, at comparable BNP and LV EF, hypertensive APE showed eccentric LV geometry but smaller RV and RA sizes, and higher RV systolic function, increased LV ventricular filling and systemic arterial loads. AHF resolution abolished the differences in PP/SV and LV diastolic load between APE and peHF whereas APE remained associated with more eccentric RV and higher TAPSE.

Blood Pressure Reduction in Hypertensive Acute Heart Failure

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

To review the key clinical and research questions regarding blood pressure (BP) reduction with vasodilators in the early management of hypertensive acute heart failure (H-AHF).

RECENT FINDINGS

Despite numerous AHF vasodilator clinical trials in the past two decades, virtually none has studied a population where vasoconstriction is the predominant physiology, and with the agents and doses most commonly used in contemporary practice. AHF patients are remarkably heterogenous by vascular tone, and this heterogeneity is not always discernible through BP or clinical exam. Emerging data suggest that diastolic BP may be a stronger correlate of vascular tone in AHF than systolic BP, despite the latter historically serving as a key inclusion criterion for vasodilator clinical trials. Existing data are limited. A clinical trial that evaluates vasodilators in a manner of use consistent with contemporary practice, specifically within the subpopulation of patients with true H-AHF, is greatly needed. Until then, observational data supports long-standing vasodilators such as nitroglycerin, administered by IV bolus, and with goal reduction of SBP ≤25% as a safe first-line approach for patients with severe H-AHF presentations.