What are the costs of heart failure?

Right ventricular-pulmonary artery coupling in patients undergoing cardiac resynchronization therapy

INTRODUCTION

The ratio between tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) and estimated pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP) has been shown to be a reliable, non-invasive surrogate of the right ventricular-pulmonary artery (RV-PA) coupling. The present study analysed the association between TAPSE/PASP and response to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) and the prognostic role of RV-PA in patients undergoing CRT implantation. The primary endpoints were: the association between baseline TAPSE/PASP and CRT response/cardiovascular and all-cause death.

METHODS AND RESULTS

All patients having undergone CRT implantation in our Center from 2016 to 2020 were included in our retrospective analysis. The RV-PA coupling was assessed by echocardiography at baseline and 1 year follow up in CRT recipients. The cut-off value of TAPSE/PASP resulted from ROC curve analysis (i.e.<0.33 mm/mmHg). A total of 229 patients (age 69.9 ± 10.1 years; 77.7% men) were included. During a mean follow-up of 44.2 ± 17.9 months, 40 (17.5%) patients died. The baseline value of TAPSE/PASP was not significantly associated with CRT response. Patients with a more impaired TAPSE/PASP ratio had significantly worse survival rates. On multivariate Cox regression, only TAPSE/PASP ratio and estimated glomerular filtration rate were independently associated with all-cause death. Finally, the TAPSE/PASP ratio significantly increased after CRT implantation in the group of "responders" whereas it did not change in 'non-responders'.

CONCLUSIONS

The baseline value of TAPSE/PASP ratio was not associated with CRT response. However, the TAPSE/PASP ratio was a strong predictor of both all-cause and cardiovascular death in CRT recipients.

Integrating Palliative Care and Heart Failure: the PalliatHeartSynthesis realist synthesis

Background

Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death worldwide, highlighting the need for studies to determine options for palliative care within the management of patients with heart failure. Although there are promising examples of integrated palliative care and heart failure interventions, there is heterogeneity in terms of countries, healthcare settings, multidisciplinary team delivery, modes of delivery and intervention components. Hence, this review is vital to identify what works, for whom and in what circumstances when integrating palliative care and heart failure.

Objectives

To (1) develop a programme theory of why, for whom and in what contexts desired outcomes occur; and (2) use the programme theory to co-produce with stakeholders key implications to inform best practice and future research.

Design

A realist review of the literature underpinned by the Realist and Meta-narrative Evidence Syntheses: Evolving Standards quality and reporting standards.

Data sources

Searches of bibliographic databases were conducted in November 2021 using the following databases: EMBASE, MEDLINE, PsycInfo, AMED, HMIC and CINAHL. Further relevant documents were identified via alerts and the stakeholder group.

Review methods

Realist review is a theory-orientated and explanatory approach to the synthesis of evidence. A realist synthesis was used to synthesise the evidence as successful implementation of integrated palliative care and heart failure depends on the context and people involved. The realist synthesis followed Pawson's five iterative stages: (1) locating existing theories; (2) searching for evidence; (3) document selection; (4) extracting and organising data; and (5) synthesising the evidence and drawing conclusions. We recruited an international stakeholder group (n = 32), including National Health Service management, healthcare professionals involved in the delivery of palliative care and heart failure, policy and community groups, plus members of the public and patients, to advise and give us feedback throughout the project, along with Health Education England to disseminate findings.

Results

In total, 1768 documents were identified, of which 1076 met the inclusion criteria. This was narrowed down to 130 included documents based on the programme theory and discussions with stakeholders. Our realist analysis developed and refined 6 overarching context-mechanism-outcome configurations and 30 sub context-mechanism-outcome configurations. The realist synthesis of the literature and stakeholder feedback helped uncover key intervention strategies most likely to support integration of palliative care into heart failure management. These included protected time for evidence-based palliative care education and choice of educational setting (e.g. online, face to face or hybrid), and the importance of increased awareness of the benefits of palliative care as key intervention strategies, the emotive and intellectual need for integrating palliative care and heart failure via credible champions, seeing direct patient benefit, and prioritising palliative care and heart failure guidelines in practice. The implications of our findings are further outlined in the capability, opportunity, motivation, behaviour model.

Limitations

The realist approach to analysis means that findings are based on our interpretation of the data.

Future work

Future work should use the implications to initiate and optimise palliative care in heart failure management.

Conclusion

Ongoing refinement of the programme theory at each stakeholder meeting allowed us to co-produce implications. These implications outline the required steps to ensure the core components and determinants of behaviour are in place so that all key players have the capacity, opportunity and motivation to integrate palliative care into heart failure management.

Study registration

This study is registered as PROSPERO CRD42021240185.

Funding

This award was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health and Social Care Delivery Research programme (NIHR award ref: NIHR131800) and is published in full in Health and Social Care Delivery Research; Vol. 12, No. 34. See the NIHR Funding and Awards website for further award information.

Obesity as a risk factor in atrial fibrillation and heart failure

Objectives

The aim of this article is to provide an insight into the role of obesity as a risk factor, and as a potential etiologic agent of atrial fibrillation (AF) and heart failure (HF).

Methods

A narrative (non-systematic) review article summarizing currently available data regarding the interaction between obesity, AF and HF.

Results

Obesity is considered a risk factor of AF and chronic HF. Multiple recent studies indicate that obesity is also a potential causal factor in the development of AF and HF, the elucidation of pathological mechanisms of which could help devise new diagnostic and therapeutic modalities for these conditions. The discussion about obesity in relation to HF cannot omit the so-called obesity paradox, which represents a dilemma for clinicians, and it is still a source of irregularities regarding the strategy of weight reduction in obese patients with HF. Recently, the obesity paradox has also been assumed to play a role in the relationship between obesity and thromboembolic complications of AF.

Conclusions

Obesity is an independent and modifiable risk factor for AF and HF. In addition, there is an increasing volume of experimental and clinical data that suggests an important role of the epicardial adipose tissue in the pathophysiology of AF. However, several issues, such as the issue of optimal pharmacotherapy and weight reduction strategy in obese patients with HF remains still unanswered, and open for future investigation.

Acute heart failure - an EFIM guideline critical appraisal and adaptation for internists

BACKGROUND

Over the past two decades, several studies have been conducted that have tried to answer questions on management of patients with acute heart failure (AHF) in terms of diagnosis and treatment. Updated international clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) have endorsed the findings of these studies. The aim of this document was to adapt recommendations of existing guidelines to help internists make decisions about specific and complex scenarios related to AHF.

METHODS

The adaptation procedure was to identify firstly unresolved clinical problems in patients with AHF in accordance with the PICO (Population, Intervention, Comparison and Outcomes) process, then conduct a critical assessment of existing CPGs and choose recommendations that are most applicable to these specific scenarios.

RESULTS

Seven PICOs were identified and CPGs were assessed. There is no single test that can help clinicians in discriminating patients with acute dyspnoea, congestion or hypoxaemia. Performing of echocardiography and natriuretic peptide evaluation is recommended, and chest X-ray and lung ultrasound may be considered. Treatment strategies to manage arterial hypotension and low cardiac output include short-term continuous intravenous inotropic support, vasopressors, renal replacement therapy, and temporary mechanical circulatory support. The most updated recommendations on how to treat specific patients with AHF and certain comorbidities and for reducing post-discharge rehospitalization and mortality are provided. Overall, 51 recommendations were endorsed and the rationale for the selection is provided in the main text.

CONCLUSION

Through the use of appropriate tailoring process methodology, this document provides a simple and updated guide for internists dealing with AHF patients.

Predicting worsening heart failure hospitalizations in patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillators: is it all about alerts? A pooled analysis of nine trials

AIMS

To predict worsening heart failure hospitalizations (WHFHs) in patients with implantable defibrillators and remote monitoring, the HeartInsight algorithm (Biotronik, Berlin, Germany) calculates a heart failure (HF) score combining seven physiologic parameters: 24 h heart rate (HR), nocturnal HR, HR variability, atrial tachyarrhythmia, ventricular extrasystoles, patient activity, and thoracic impedance. We compared temporal trends of the HF score and its components 12 weeks before a WHFH with 12-week trends in patients without WHFH, to assess whether trends indicate deteriorating HF regardless of alert status.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Data from nine clinical trials were pooled, including 2050 patients with a defibrillator capable of atrial sensing, ejection fraction ≤ 35%, NYHA class II/III, no long-standing atrial fibrillation, and 369 WHFH from 259 patients. The mean HF score was higher in the WHFH group than in the no WHFH group (42.3 ± 26.1 vs. 30.7 ± 20.6, P < 0.001) already at the beginning of 12 weeks. The mean HF score further increased to 51.6 ± 26.8 until WHFH (+22% vs. no WHFH group, P = 0.003). As compared to the no WHFH group, the algorithm components either were already higher 12 weeks before WHFH (24 h HR, HR variability, thoracic impedance) or significantly increased until WHFH (nocturnal HR, atrial tachyarrhythmia, ventricular extrasystoles, patient activity).

CONCLUSION

The HF score was significantly higher at, and further increased during 12 weeks before WHFH, as compared to the no WHFH group, with seven components showing different behaviour and contribution. Temporal trends of HF score may serve as a quantitative estimate of HF condition and evolution prior to WHFH.

Weak grip strength predicts higher unplanned healthcare utilization among patients with heart failure

AIMS

Frailty increases healthcare utilization and costs for patients with heart failure but is challenging to assess in clinical settings. Hand grip strength (GS) is a single-item measure of frailty yet lacks evidence as a potential screening tool to identify patients at risk of higher unplanned events and related healthcare costs. We examined the association of baseline and longitudinal GS measurements with healthcare utilization and costs among patients with advanced heart failure.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Between July 2017 and April 2019, we enrolled 251 patients with symptoms of advanced heart failure (New York Heart Association class III or IV) in a prospective cohort study in Singapore. We measured GS at baseline and every 4 months for 2 years and linked patients' survey data with their medical and billing records. We categorized patients as having weak GS if their GS measurement was below the 5th percentile of the age- and gender-specific normative GS values in Singapore. We assessed the association between baseline GS and healthcare utilization (unplanned and planned events and healthcare costs, total costs, and length of inpatient stay) over the next 2 years using regression models. We investigated the association between longitudinal 4-monthly GS assessments and the ensuing 4 months of healthcare utilization and costs using mixed-effects logistic and two-part regression models. At baseline, 22.5% of patients had weak GS. Baseline and longitudinal GS measurements were significantly associated with longer length of inpatient stay, greater likelihood of unplanned events, and higher related costs. Patients with weak GS had higher odds of an unplanned event occurring by 8 percentage points [95% confidence interval (CI) (0.01, 0.14), P = 0.026], incurred longer inpatient stays by 4 days [95% CI (1.97, 6.79), P = 0.003], and additional SG$ 4792 [US$ ~ 3594, 95% CI (1894, 7689), P = 0.014] in unplanned healthcare costs over the next 4 months.

CONCLUSIONS

GS is a simple tool to identify and monitor heart failure patients at risk of unplanned events, longer inpatient stays, and higher related healthcare costs. Findings support its routine use in clinical settings.

A European multinational cost-effectiveness analysis of empagliflozin in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction

PURPOSE

This research examined the cost-effectiveness of adding empagliflozin to standard of care (SoC) compared with SoC alone for treatment of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) from the perspective of healthcare payers in the United Kingdom (UK), Spain and France.

METHODS

A lifetime Markov cohort model was developed to simulate patients' progression through health states based on Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire Clinical Summary Score. The model predicted risk of death, hospitalisation for worsening heart failure (HHF), treatment-related adverse events, and treatment discontinuation each monthly cycle. Clinical inputs and utilities were derived from EMPEROR-Reduced trial data, supplemented by published literature and national costing databases. Costs (2021 pound sterling/euro) and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) were discounted annually for the UK (3.5%), Spain (3.0%) and France (2.5%).

RESULTS

In the UK, Spain and France, empagliflozin plus SoC yielded additional QALYs (0.19, 0.23 and 0.21) at higher cost (£1185, €1770 and €1183 per patient) than SoC alone, yielding incremental cost-effectiveness ratios of £6152/QALY, €7736/QALY and €5511/QALY, respectively. Reduced HHF incidence provided most cost offsets for empagliflozin plus SoC. Similar results were obtained for a range of subgroups and sensitivity analyses. Probabilistic sensitivity results indicated empagliflozin plus SoC remained cost-effective vs. SoC at willingness-to-pay thresholds of £20,000/QALY, €20,000/QALY and €30,000/QALY in 79.6%, 75.5% and 97.3% of model runs for the UK, Spain and France, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Empagliflozin added to SoC leads to health benefits for patients with HFrEF and is a cost-effective treatment option for payers in multiple European countries (UK, Spain, France).

Multinational cost-effectiveness analysis of empagliflozin for heart failure patients with ejection fraction >40

AIMS

Heart failure is a chronic progressive condition, with considerable burden on patients' quality of life and economic burden for the healthcare systems. Before the approval of empagliflozin, there were no proven effective treatments for patients with heart failure with left ventricular ejection fraction (HF LVEF) > 40%. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of empagliflozin + standard of care (SoC) compared with SoC alone for patients with HF LVEF > 40%, from the perspective of the healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK), Spain, and France, and to quantify the healthcare costs for these patients.

METHODS AND RESULTS

A lifetime Markov cohort state-transition model was developed based on discrete health states defined by Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire-Clinical Summary Score quartiles to track disease severity. Model inputs relied primarily on the EMPEROR-Preserved trial data or obtained from published literature or country-specific databases, as well as local guidelines for the requirements for the conduct of the economic evaluation of healthcare technologies. The total lifetime cost of receiving SoC per patient was £10 092, €15 765, and €14 958 in the UK, Spain, and France, respectively, which increased by £1407, €1148, and €1485, respectively, with the addition of empagliflozin to the SoC. Empagliflozin + SoC was associated with significantly reduced number of hospitalization for HF or cardiovascular death compared with SoC alone, which was a key driver offsetting its drug acquisition costs. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained was consistently favourable at £14 851, €11 706, and €15 447 in the UK, Spain, and France, respectively. Scenario analysis using the New York Heart Association functional class showed similar results. Probabilistic sensitivity analyses showed more than 50% probability for cost-effectiveness for a willingness-to-pay (WTP) threshold of £/€20 000/QALY for the three countries.

CONCLUSIONS

Empagliflozin was found to be the first targeted treatment option that is clinically effective and cost-effective for patients with HF LVEF > 40%. Prescribing empagliflozin with SoC to patients with HF LVEF > 40% is expected to improve clinical outcomes and patients' quality of life and substantially below accepted WTP threshold for the healthcare systems in the UK, Spain, and France.

Organization and quality of care in patient-sharing networks

Healthcare systems seek to provide continuous and coordinated care of high quality. However, patient pathways in the ambulatory sector may differ and result in various provider units. Our aim was to analyze whether health outcomes and the quality of care differ between different types of patient-sharing physician networks. We analyzed administrative data on patients with diagnosed heart failure in Germany. We investigated distinct networks of ambulatory physicians by using a modular-based optimization algorithm and characterized each network as having either a key physician at its center or some other kind of configuration. We subsequently conducted multilevel regression analyses to estimate the impact a network's configuration has on hospitalization rates and guideline-based process indicators. We identified 1,847 networks, of which 27% had a key physician at their center. Compared to physician networks with other configurations, networks that had a key physician at their center were associated in our regression analysis with (a) somewhat lower hospitalization rates, and (b) heart failure treatment that was more frequently in concordance with the German national treatment guideline. Organizing healthcare for people with chronic disease into units that have a key physician at their center and include the relevant specialists may foster treatment that is effective and of higher quality.

Financial burden of heart failure in Malaysia: A perspective from the public healthcare system

BACKGROUND

Estimating and evaluating the economic burden of HF and its impact on the public healthcare system is necessary for devising improved treatment plans in the future. The present study aimed to determine the economic impact of HF on the public healthcare system.

METHOD

The annual cost of HF per patient was estimated using unweighted average and inverse probability weighting (IPW). Unweight average estimated the annual cost by considering all observed cases regardless of the availability of all the cost data, while IPW calculated the cost by weighting against inverse probability. The economic burden of HF was estimated for different HF phenotypes and age categories at the population level from the public healthcare system perspective.

RESULTS

The mean (standard deviation) annual costs per patient calculated using unweighted average and IPW were USD 5,123 (USD 3,262) and USD 5,217 (USD 3,317), respectively. The cost of HF estimated using two different approaches did not differ significantly (p = 0.865). The estimated cost burden of HF in Malaysia was USD 481.9 million (range: USD 31.7 million- 1,213.2 million) per year, which accounts for 1.05% (range: 0.07%-2.66%) of total health expenditure in 2021. The cost of managing patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) accounted for 61.1% of the total financial burden of HF in Malaysia. The annual cost burden increased from USD 2.8 million for patients aged 20-29 to USD 142.1 million for those aged 60-69. The cost of managing HF in patients aged 50-79 years contributed 74.1% of the total financial burden of HF in Malaysia.

CONCLUSION

A large portion of the financial burden of HF in Malaysia is driven by inpatient costs and HFrEF patients. Long-term survival of HF patients leads to an increase in the prevalence of HF, inevitably increasing the financial burden of HF.

Cost-Effectiveness of Empagliflozin on Top of Standard of Care for Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction in Singapore

OBJECTIVES

The prevalence of heart failure (HF) and its risk factors are high in Singapore. The EMPEROR-Reduced trial demonstrated that add-on empagliflozin resulted in a reduction in the risk of cardiovascular death or hospitalization for HF compared with standard of care (SoC). This study aimed to estimate the cost-effectiveness of empagliflozin+SoC versus SoC in patients with HF with reduced ejection fraction from a Singaporean healthcare perspective.

METHODS

A Markov cohort model simulated progression through health states based on New York Heart Association classes over a lifetime horizon using a cycle length of 1 month. Transition probabilities, and the risk of transient events (hospitalization for HF and cardiovascular/all-cause death) were modeled based on the EMPEROR-Reduced trial. Costs for HF-related events, adverse events, and for monitoring were estimated from a combination of published literature and publicly available fees for public hospitals/polyclinics.

RESULTS

Empagliflozin+SoC was estimated to be very cost-effective versus SoC alone with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of<8000 Singapore Dollars/quality-adjusted life-year gained. The base-case results were robust as evidenced from the consistency of various scenario and sensitivity analyses performed. When using Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire - Clinical Summary Score quartiles as the health states, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio reduced significantly to 4625 Singapore Dollars/quality-adjusted life-year.

CONCLUSION

The use of empagliflozin on top of SoC represents a highly cost-effective solution for the treatment of patients with HF with reduced ejection fraction in Singapore when considering its efficacy, relative affordability, and the growing economic burden of HF in Singapore.

Increased Risk of Heart Failure in Elderly Patients Treated with Beta-Blockers After AV Node Ablation

INTRODUCTION

Controversy exists regarding the indication of beta-blockers (BB) in different scenarios in patients with cardiovascular disease. We sought to evaluate the effect of BB on survival and heart failure (HF) hospitalizations in a sample of pacemaker-dependent patients after AV node ablation to control ventricular rate for atrial tachyarrhythmias.

METHODS

A retrospective study including consecutive patients that underwent AV node ablation was conducted in a single center between 2011 and 2019. The study's primary endpoints were the incidence of all-cause mortality, first HF hospitalization and the cumulative incidence of subsequent hospitalizations for HF. Competing risk analyses were employed.

RESULTS

A total of 111 patients with a mean age of 73.9 years were included in the study. After a median follow-up of 45.5 months, 43 patients had died (38.7%) and 31 had been hospitalized for HF (27.9%). The recurrent HF hospitalization rate was 74/1000 patients/year. Patients treated with BB had a non-significant trend to higher mortality rates and a higher risk of recurrent HF hospitalizations (incidence rate ratio 2.23, 95% confidence interval 1.12-4.44; p = 0.023).

CONCLUSION

After an AV node ablation, the use of BB is associated with an increased risk of HF hospitalizations in a cohort of elderly patients.

Sarcopenia and Frailty in Heart Failure: Is There a Biomarker Signature?

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Sarcopenia and frailty are common in patients with heart failure (HF) and are strongly associated with prognosis. This review aims to examine promising biomarkers that can guide physicians in identifying sarcopenia and frailty in HF.

RECENT FINDINGS

Traditional biomarkers including C-reactive protein, aminotransaminase, myostatin, and urinary creatinine as well as novel biomarkers including microRNAs, suppression of tumorigenicity 2 (ST2), galectin-3, and procollagen type III N-terminal peptide may help in predicting the development of sarcopenia and frailty in HF patients. Among those biomarkers, aminotransferase, urinary creatinine, and ST2 predicted the prognosis in HF patients with sarcopenia and frailty. This review outlines the current knowledge of biomarkers that are considered promising for diagnosing sarcopenia and frailty in HF. The listed biomarkers might support the diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutic decisions for sarcopenia and frailty in HF patients.

Impact analysis of heart failure across European countries: an ESC-HFA position paper

Heart failure (HF) is a long-term clinical syndrome, with increasing prevalence and considerable healthcare costs that are further expected to increase dramatically. Despite significant advances in therapy and prevention, mortality and morbidity remain high and quality of life poor. Epidemiological data, that is, prevalence, incidence, mortality, and morbidity, show geographical variations across the European countries, depending on differences in aetiology, clinical characteristics, and treatment. However, data on the prevalence of the disease are scarce, as are those on quality of life. For these reasons, the ESC-HFA has developed a position paper to comprehensively assess our understanding of the burden of HF in Europe, in order to guide future policies for this syndrome. This manuscript will discuss the available epidemiological data on HF prevalence, outcomes, and human costs-in terms of quality of life-in European countries.

Current state of artificial intelligence-based algorithms for hospital admission prediction in patients with heart failure: a scoping review. EUROPEAN HEART JOURNAL. DIGITAL HEALTH 2022;3:415-425. [PMID: 36712159 PMCID: PMC9707890 DOI: 10.1093/ehjdh/ztac035]

AIMS

Patients with congestive heart failure (HF) are prone to clinical deterioration leading to hospital admissions, burdening both patients and the healthcare system. Predicting hospital admission in this patient group could enable timely intervention, with subsequent reduction of these admissions. To date, hospital admission prediction remains challenging. Increasing amounts of acquired data and development of artificial intelligence (AI) technology allow for the creation of reliable hospital prediction algorithms for HF patients. This scoping review describes the current literature on strategies and performance of AI-based algorithms for prediction of hospital admission in patients with HF.

METHODS AND RESULTS

PubMed, EMBASE, and the Web of Science were used to search for articles using machine learning (ML) and deep learning methods to predict hospitalization in patients with HF. After eligibility screening, 23 articles were included. Sixteen articles predicted 30-day hospital (re-)admission resulting in an area under the curve (AUC) ranging from 0.61 to 0.79. Six studies predicted hospital admission over longer time periods ranging from 6 months to 3 years, with AUC's ranging from 0.65 to 0.78. One study prospectively evaluated performance of a disposable sensory patch at home after hospitalization which resulted in an AUC of 0.89 for unplanned hospital admission prediction.

CONCLUSION

AI has the potential to enable prediction of hospital admission in HF patients. Improvement of data management, adding new data sources such as telemonitoring data and ML models and prospective and external validation of current models must be performed before clinical applicability is possible.

Expenditure on Heart Failure in the United States: The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey 2009-2018

BACKGROUND

With rising United States health care expenditure, estimating current spending for patients with heart failure (HF) informs the value of preventative health interventions.

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this study was to estimate current health care expenditure growth for patients with HF in the United States.

METHODS

The authors pooled MEPS (Medical Expenditure Panel Survey) data from 2009-2018 to calculate total HF-related expenditure across clinical settings in the United States. A 2-part model adjusted for demographics, comorbidities, and year was used to estimate annual mean and incremental expenditures associated with HF.

RESULTS

In the United States, an average of $28,950 (2018 inflation-adjusted dollars) is spent per year for health care-related expenditure for individuals with HF compared with $5,727 for individuals without HF. After adjusting for demographics and comorbidities, a diagnosis of HF was associated with $3,594 in annual incremental expenditure compared with those without HF. HF-related expenditure increased from $26,864 annual per person in 2009-2010 to $32,955 in 2017-2018, representing a 23% rise over 10 years. In comparison, expenditure on myocardial infarction, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and cancer grew by 16%, 28%, and 16%, respectively. Most of the cost was related to hospitalization: $12,569 per year. Outpatient office-based care and prescription medications saw the greatest growth in cost over the period, 41% and 24%, respectively. Estimated incremental national expenditure for HF per year was $22.3 billion; total annual expenditure for adults with HF was $179.5 billion.

CONCLUSIONS

HF is a costly condition for which expenditure is growing faster than that of other chronic conditions.

Cost-of-disease of Heart Failure in Turkey: A Delphi Panel-based Analysis of Direct and Indirect Costs

Background:

Heart failure (HF) is considered a significant public health issue with a substantial and growing epidemiologic and economic burden in relation to longer life expectancy and aging global population.

Aims:

To determine cost-of-disease of heart failure (HF) in Turkey from the payer perspective.

Study Design:

Cross-sectional cost of disease study.

Methods:

In this cost-of-disease study, annual direct and indirect costs of management of HF were determined based on epidemiological, clinical and lost productivity inputs provided by a Delphi panel consisted of 11 experts in HF with respect to ejection fraction (EF) status (HF patients with reduced EF (HFrEF), mid-range EF (HFmrEF) and preserved EF (HFpEF)) and New York Heart Association (NYHA) classification. Direct medical costs included cost items on outpatient management, inpatient management, medications, and non-pharmaceutical treatments. Indirect cost was calculated based on the lost productivity due to absenteeism and presenteeism.

Results:

51.4%, 19.5%, and 29.1% of the patients were estimated to be HFrEF, HFmrEF, and HFpEF patients, respectively. The total annual direct medical cost per patient was $887 and non-pharmaceutical treatments ($373, 42.1%) were the major direct cost driver. Since an estimated nationwide number of HF patients is 1,128,000 in 2021, the total annual national economic burden of HF is estimated to be $1 billion in 2021. The direct medical cost was higher in patients with HFrEF than in those with HFmrEF or HFpEF ($1,147 vs. $555 and $649, respectively). Average indirect cost per patient was calculated to be $3,386 and was similar across HFrEF, HFmrEF and HFpEF groups, but increased with advanced NYHA stage.

Conclusion:

Our findings confirm the substantial economic burden of HF in terms of both direct and indirect costs and indicate that the non-pharmaceutical cost is the major direct medical cost driver in HF management, regardless of the EF status of HF patients.

Language matters: representations of 'heart failure' in English discourse-a large-scale linguistic study

AIMS

Heart failure (HF) has a lower public profile compared with other serious health conditions, notably cancer. This discourse analysis study investigates the extent to which HF is discussed in general contemporary English, UK parliamentary debates and the ways in which HF is framed in discussions, when compared with two other serious health conditions, cancer and dementia.

METHODS

The Oxford English Corpus (OEC) of 21st century English-language texts (2 billion words) and the UK Hansard Reports of parliamentary debates from 1945 to early 2021 were used to investigate the relative frequencies, contexts and use of the terms 'heart failure', 'cancer' and 'dementia'.

RESULTS

In the OEC, the term 'heart failure' occurs 4.26 times per million words (pmw), 'dementia' occurs 3.68 times pmw and 'cancer' occurs 81.96 times pmw. Cancer is talked about 19 times more often than HF and 22 times more often than dementia. These are disproportionately high in relation to actual incidence: annual cancer incidence is 1.8 times that of the other conditions; annual cancer mortality is two times that caused by coronary heart disease (including HF) or dementia.'Heart failure' is used much less than 'cancer' in UK parliamentary debates (House of Commons and House of Lords) between 1945 and early 2021, and less than 'dementia' from 1990 onwards. Moreover, HF is even mentioned much less than pot-holes in UK roads and pavements. In 2018, for example, 'pot-hole/s' were mentioned over 10 times pmw, 37 times more often than 'heart failure', mentioned 0.28 times pmw. Discussions of HF are comparatively technical and formulaic, lacking survivor narratives that occur in discussions of cancer.

CONCLUSIONS

HF is underdiscussed in contemporary English compared with cancer and dementia and underdiscussed in UK parliamentary debates, even compared with the less-obviously life-threatening topic of pot-holes in roads and pavements.

Inferior Vena Cava Edge Tracking Echocardiography: A Promising Tool with Applications in Multiple Clinical Settings

Ultrasound (US)-based measurements of the inferior vena cava (IVC) diameter are widely used to estimate right atrial pressure (RAP) in a variety of clinical settings. However, the correlation with invasively measured RAP along with the reproducibility of US-based IVC measurements is modest at best. In the present manuscript, we discuss the limitations of the current technique to estimate RAP through IVC US assessment and present a new promising tool developed by our research group, the automated IVC edge-to-edge tracking system, which has the potential to improve RAP assessment by transforming the current categorical classification (low, normal, high RAP) in a continuous and precise RAP estimation technique. Finally, we critically evaluate all the clinical settings in which this new tool could improve current practice.

Automated Assessment of the Quality of Phonocardographic Recordings through Signal-to-Noise Ratio for Home Monitoring Applications

The signal quality limits the applicability of phonocardiography at the patients’ domicile. This work proposes the signal-to-noise ratio of the recorded signal as its main quality metrics. Moreover, we define the minimum acceptable values of the signal-to-noise ratio that warrantee an accuracy of the derived parameters acceptable in clinics. We considered 25 original heart sounds recordings, which we corrupted by adding noise to decrease their signal-to-noise ratio. We found that a signal-to-noise ratio equal to or higher than 14 dB warrants an uncertainty of the estimate of the valve closure latencies below 1 ms. This accuracy is higher than that required by most clinical applications. We validated the proposed method against a public database, obtaining results comparable to those obtained on our sample population. In conclusion, we defined (a) the signal-to-noise ratio of the phonocardiographic signal as the preferred metric to evaluate its quality and (b) the minimum values of the signal-to-noise ratio required to obtain an uncertainty of the latency of heart sound components compatible with clinical applications. We believe these results are crucial for the development of home monitoring systems aimed at preventing acute episodes of heart failure and that can be safely operated by naïve users.

Healthcare resource utilisation and costs associated with a heart failure diagnosis: a retrospective, population-based cohort study in Sweden

OBJECTIVES

To examine healthcare resource use (HRU) and costs among heart failure (HF) patients using population data from Sweden.

DESIGN

Retrospective, non-interventional cohort study.

SETTING

Two cohorts were identified from linked national health registers (cohort 1, 2005-2014) and electronic medical records (cohort 2, 2010-2012; primary/secondary care patients from Uppsala and Västerbotten).

PARTICIPANTS

Patients (aged ≥18 years) with primary or secondary diagnoses of HF (≥2 International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th revision classification) during the identification period of January 2005 to March 2015 were included.

OUTCOME MEASURES

HRU across the HF phenotypes was assessed with logistic regression. Costs were estimated based on diagnosis-related group codes and general price lists.

RESULTS

Total annual costs of secondary care of prevalent HF increased from SEK 6.23 (€0.60) to 8.86 (€0.85) billion between 2005 and 2014. Of 4648 incident patients, HF phenotype was known for 1715: reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF): 64.5%, preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF): 35.5%. Within 1 year of HF diagnosis, the proportion of patients hospitalised was only marginally higher for HFrEF versus HFpEF (all-cause (95% CI): 64.7% (60.8 to 68.4) vs 63.7% (60.8 to 66.5), HR 0.91, p=0.14; cardiovascular disease related (95% CI): 61.1% (57.1 to 64.8) vs 60.9% (58.0 to 63.7), HR 0.93, p=0.28). Frequency of hospitalisations and outpatient visits per patient declined after the first year. All-cause secondary care costs in the first year were SEK 122 758 (€12 890)/patient/year, with HF-specific care accounting for 69% of the costs. Overall, 10% of the most expensive population (younger; predominantly male; more likely to have comorbidities) incurred ~40% of total secondary care costs.

CONCLUSIONS

HF-associated costs and HRU are high, especially during the first year of diagnosis. This is driven by high hospitalisations rates. Understanding the profile of resource-intensive patients being at younger age, male sex and high Charlson comorbidity index scores at the time of the HF diagnosis is most likely a sign of more severe disease.

Nutritional interventions for heart failure patients who are malnourished or at risk of malnutrition or cachexia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Malnutrition is common in heart failure (HF), and it is associated with higher hospital readmission and mortality rates. This review aims to answer the question whether nutritional interventions aiming to increase protein and energy intake are effective at improving outcomes for patients with HF who are malnourished or at risk of malnutrition or cachexia. Systematic searches of four databases (Medline, Embase, CINAHL and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL)) were conducted on 21 June 2019. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or other interventional studies using protein or energy supplementation for adult HF patients who are malnourished or at risk of malnutrition or cachexia were included. Two independent reviewers assessed study eligibility and risk of bias. Five studies (four RCTs and one pilot RCT) met the inclusion criteria. The majority of studies were small and of limited quality. The pooled weighted mean difference (WMD) for body weight showed a benefit from the nutritional intervention by 3.83 kg (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.17 to 7.50, P = 0.04) from three trials with no significant benefit for triceps skinfold thickness (WMD = - 2.14 mm, 95% CI - 9.07 to 4.79, P = 0.55) from two trials. The combination of personalized nutrition intervention with conventional treatment led to a decrease in all-cause mortality and hospital readmission in one study. Findings of this review suggest that nutritional interventions could potentially improve outcomes in HF patients who are malnourished or at risk of malnutrition. However, the strength of the evidence is poor, and more robust studies with a larger number of participants are needed.

Ambulatory intravenous furosemide for decompensated heart failure: safe, feasible, and effective

Aims

This study aims to establish the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of outpatient intravenous (IV) diuretic treatment for the management of decompensated heart failure (HF) for patients enrolled in the HeartFailure@Home service.

Methods and results

We retrospectively analysed the clinical episodes of decompensated HF for patients enrolled in the HeartFailure@Home service, managed by ambulatory IV diuretic treatment either at home or on a day‐case unit. A control group consisting of HF patients admitted to hospital for IV diuretics (standard‐of‐care) was also evaluated. In total, 203 episodes of decompensated HF (n = 154 patients) were evaluated. One hundred and fourteen episodes in 79 patients were managed exclusively by the ambulatory IV diuretic service—78 (68.4%) on a day‐case unit and 36 (31.6%) domiciliary; 84.1% of patient episodes under the HF@Home service were successfully managed entirely in an out‐patient setting without hospitalization. Eleven patients required admission in order to administer higher doses of IV diuretics than could be provided in the ambulatory setting. During follow‐up, there were 20 (17.5%) 30 day re‐admissions with HF or death in the ambulatory IV group and 29 (32.6%) in the standard‐of‐care arm (P = 0.02). There was no difference in 30 day HF readmissions between the two groups (14.9% ambulatory vs. 13.5% inpatients, P = 0.8), but 30 day mortality was significantly lower in the ambulatory group (3.5% vs. 21.3% inpatients, P < 0.001).

Conclusions

Outpatient ambulatory management of decompensated HF with IV diuretics given either on a day case unit or in a domiciliary setting is feasible, safe, and effective in selected patients with decompensated HF. This should be explored further as a model in delivering HF services in the outpatient setting during COVID‐19.

Comorbidities Associated with One-Year Mortality in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation and Heart Failure

BACKGROUND

Heart failure (HF) and atrial fibrillation (AF) commonly coexist and patients with both diseases have a worse prognosis than those with HF or AF alone. The objective of our study was to identify the factors associated with one-year mortality in patients with HF and AF, depending on the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF).

METHODS

We included 727 patients with HF and AF consecutively admitted in a clinical emergency hospital between January 2018 and December 2019. The inclusion criteria were age of more than 18 years, diagnosis of chronic HF and AF (paroxysmal, persistent, permanent), and signed informed consent. The exclusion criteria were the absence of echocardiographic data, a suboptimal ultrasound view, and other cardiac rhythms than AF. The patients were divided into 3 groups: group 1 (337 patients with AF and HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF)), group 2 (112 patients with AF and HF with mid-range ejection fraction (HFmrEF)), and group 3 (278 patients with AF and HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF)).

RESULTS

The one-year mortality rates were 36.49% in group 1, 27.67% in group 2, and 27.69% in group 3. The factors that increased one-year mortality were chronic kidney disease (OR 2.35, 95% CI 1.45-3.83), coronary artery disease (OR 1.67, 95% CI 1.06-2.62), and diabetes (OR 1.66, 95% CI 1.05-2.67) in patients with HFrEF; and hypertension in patients with HFpEF (OR 2.45, 95% CI 1.36-4.39).

CONCLUSIONS

One-year mortality in patients with HF and AF is influenced by different factors, depending on the LVEF.

Optimising the Heart Failure Treatment Pathway: The Role of SGLT2 Inhibitors

Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors were first developed as glucose-lowering therapies for the treatment of diabetes. However, these drugs have now been recognised to prevent worsening heart-failure events, improve health-related quality of life, and reduce mortality in people with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), including those both with and without diabetes. Despite robust clinical trial data demonstrating favourable outcomes with SGLT2 inhibitors for patients with HFrEF, there is a lack of familiarity with the HF indication for these drugs, which have been the remit of diabetologists to date. In this article we use consensus expert opinion alongside the available evidence and label indication to provide support for the healthcare community treating people with HF regarding positioning of SGLT2 inhibitors within the treatment pathway. By highlighting appropriate prescribing and practical considerations, we hope to encourage greater, and safe, use of SGLT2 inhibitors in this population.

Determinants of acceptance of patients with heart failure and their informal caregivers regarding an interactive decision-making system: a qualitative study

OBJECTIVE

Heart failure is a growing challenge to healthcare systems worldwide. Technological solutions have the potential to improve the health of patients and help to reduce costs. Acceptability is a prerequisite for the use and a successful implementation of new disruptive technologies. This qualitative study aimed to explore determinants that influence the acceptance of patients and their informal caregivers regarding a patient-oriented digital decision-making solution-a doctor-at-home system.

DESIGN

We applied a semistructured design using an interview guide that was based on a theoretical framework influenced by established acceptance theories. The interviews were analysed using a content analysis.

SETTING

A multicentred study in four European countries.

PARTICIPANTS

We interviewed 49 patients and 33 of their informal caregivers. Most of the patients were male (76%) and aged between 60 and 69 years (43%). Informal caregivers were mostly female (85%). The majority of patients (55%) suffered from heart failure with mild symptoms.

RESULTS

Four main categories emerged from the data: needs and expectations, preferences regarding the care process, perceived risk and trust. Participants expressed clear wishes and expectations regarding a doctor-at-home, especially the need for reassurance and support in the management of heart failure. They were receptive to changes to the current healthcare processes. However, trust was identified as an important basis for acceptance and use. Finally, perceived risk for decision-making errors is a crucial topic in need of attention.

CONCLUSION

Patients and informal caregivers see clear benefits of digitalisation in healthcare. They perceive that an interactive decision-making system for patients could empower and enable effective self-care. Our results provide important insights for development processes of patient-centred decision-making systems by identifying facilitators and barriers for acceptance. Further research is needed, especially regarding the influence and mitigation of patients and informal caregivers' perceived risks.

What risks to sustainability are identified throughout care bundle implementation and how can they be addressed? A mixed methods case study

OBJECTIVES

Despite national guidance on how to identify and treat heart failure (HF), variation in HF care persists across UK hospitals. Care bundles have been proposed as a mechanism to deliver reliable optimal care for patients; however, specific challenges to sustain care bundles in practice have been highlighted. With few studies providing insight into how to design or implement care bundles to optimise sustainability, there is little direction for practitioners seeking to ensure long-term impact of their initiatives. This study explores the sustainability risks encountered throughout the implementation of a HF care bundle (HFCB) and describes how these challenges were addressed by a multidisciplinary team (MDT) to enhance sustainability over time.

DESIGN

A longitudinal mixed method case study examined the HFCB improvement initiative from September 2015 to August 2018. A standardised sustainability tool was used to collect perceptions of sustainability risks and actions throughout the initiative. Observations, key-informant interviews and documentary analysis were conducted to gain in-depth understanding of how the MDT influenced sustainability through specific actions. A qualitative database was developed using a consolidated sustainability framework to conduct thematic analysis. Sustainability outcomes were explored 1-year post funding to ascertain progress towards sustainment.

RESULTS

The MDT identified six sustainability challenges for the HFCB: infrastructure limitations, coding reliability, delivery consistency, organisational fit, resource stability and demonstrating impact. The MDT undertook multiple actions to enhance sustainability, including: (1) developing a business case to address infrastructure limitations; (2) incorporating staff feedback to increase bundle usability; (3) establishing consistent training; (4) increasing reliability of baseline data; (5) embedding monitoring and communication; and (6) integrating the bundle into current practices.

CONCLUSION

Through the description of challenges, actions and learning from the MDT, this study provides practical lessons for practitioners and researchers seeking to embed and sustain care bundles in practice.

Atrial fibrillation in patients with systolic heart failure: pathophysiology mechanisms and management

Heart failure (HF) and atrial fibrillation (AF) demonstrate a constantly increasing prevalence during the 21^st century worldwide, as a result of the aging population and the successful interventions of the clinical practice in the deterioration of adverse cardiovascular outcomes. HF and AF share common risk factors and pathophysiological mechanisms, creating the base of a constant interrelation. AF impairs systolic and diastolic function, resulting in the increasing incidence of HF, whereas the structural and neurohormonal changes in HF with preserved or reduced ejection fraction increase the possibility of the AF development. The temporal relationship of the development of either condition affects the diagnostic algorithms, the prognosis and the ideal therapeutic strategy that leads to euvolaemia, management of non-cardiovascular comorbidities, control of heart rate or restoration of sinus rate, ventricular synchronization, prevention of sudden death, stroke, embolism, or major bleeding and maintenance of a sustainable quality of life. The indicated treatment for the concomitant HF and AF includes rate or/and rhythm control as well as thromboembolism prophylaxis, while the progress in the understanding of their pathophysiological interdependence and the introduction of the genetic profiling, create new paths in the diagnosis, the prognosis and the prevention of these diseases.

Hemodynamic monitoring by intracardiac impedance measured by cardiac resynchronization defibrillators: Evaluation in a controlled clinical setting (BIO.Detect HF II study)

Background

In patients with cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators (CRT-Ds), intracardiac impedance measured by dedicated CRT-D software may be used to monitor hemodynamic changes. We investigated the relationship of hemodynamic parameters assessed by intracardiac impedance and by echocardiography in a controlled clinical setting.

Methods

The study enrolled 68 patients (mean age, 66 ± 9 years; 74% males) at 12 investigational sites. The patients had an indication for CRT-D implantation, New York Heart Association class II/III symptoms, left ventricular ejection fraction 15%–35%, and a QRS duration ≥150 ms. Two months after a CRT-D implantation, hemodynamic changes were provoked by overdrive pacing. Intracardiac impedance was recorded at rest and at four pacing rates ranging from 10 to 40 beats/min above the resting rate. In parallel, echocardiography measurements were performed. We hypothesized that a mean intra-individual correlation coefficient (r_mean) between stroke impedance (difference between end-systolic and end-diastolic intracardiac impedance) measured by CRT-D and the aortic velocity time integral (i.e., stroke volume) determined by echocardiography would be significantly larger than 0.65.

Results

The hypothesis was evaluated in 40 patients with complete data sets. The r_mean was 0.797, with a lower confidence interval bound of 0.709. The study hypothesis was met (p = 0.007). A stepwise reduction of stroke impedance and stroke volume was observed with increasing heart rate.

Conclusions

Intracardiac impedance measured by implanted CRT-Ds correlated well with the aortic velocity time integral (stroke volume) determined by echocardiography. The impedance measurements bear potential and are readily available technically, not requiring implantation of additional material beyond standard CRT-D system.

•

Intracardiac impedance measurement feature (ICI-MF) is integrated in some CRT-Ds.

•

We studied relationship between echo hemodynamic parameters and ICI-MF of CRT-Ds.

•

Stroke volume by echo correlated well with stroke impedance by ICI-MF of CRT-Ds.

•

Stepwise reduction in stroke impedance and stroke volume with increasing heart rate.

•

The ICI-MF bears potential and requires only a ‘standard’ CRT-D system implantation.

Development and implementation of a cardiac resynchronisation therapy care pathway: improved process and reduced resource use

Background

Cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) requires intensive, complex and multidisciplinary care to maximize the clinical benefit. In current practice this is typically a task for highly specialised physicians. We report on a novel multidisciplinary, standardised CRT care pathway (CRT-CPW). Experienced clinicians developed a CPW with simple and broadly applicable aids based on clinical evidence and identified shortcomings in the current CRT care. The resulting CPW was implemented at the Maastricht University Medical Center, aiming at a transfer from heterogeneous physician-led care to standardized nurse-led care.

Methods

Two CRT patient cohorts were compared in this analysis. The benchmarked usual care cohort (2012–2014, 122 patients) was compared with the CRT-CPW cohort (2015–2017, 115 patients). The primary outcomes were process-related: number of physician consultations, nurse consultations, length of stay (LOS) at implantation and total hospitalisation days during 1-year follow-up, and referral-to-treatment time. Clinical outcomes were assessed to adress non-inferiority of quality of care.

Results

Patients in the CRT-CPW cohort consulted nurses and technicians significantly more often than patients in the usual care cohort (2.4±1.5 vs 1.7±2.0, p<0.0001 and 4.3±2.5 vs 3.7±1.5, p=0.063, respectively). Patients with CRT-CPW consulted physicians significantly less often (1.7±1.4 vs 2.6±2.1, p<0.001). Referral to treatment time was significantly reduced in the CRT-CPW group (23.6±18.4 vs 37.0±26.3 days, p=0.002). LOS at implantation and total hospitalisation days were significantly reduced in the CRT-CPW group (1.1±1.2 vs 1.5±0.7 days, p<0.0001 and 2.4±4.8 vs 4.8±9.3, p<0.0001, respectively). Clinical outcome analyses showed no significant difference in 12-month all-cause mortality and heart failure hospitalisations.

Conclusion

The introduction of a novel CRT-CPW resulted in a successful transition of physician-led to nurse-led care, with a significantly reduced resource use and equal clinical outcomes. Future evaluations will focus on impact on outcomes versus costs, to evaluate cost-effectiveness of the CRT-CPW.

Impact of a telemonitoring intervention in patients with chronic heart failure in Germany: A difference-in-difference matching approach using real-world data

INTRODUCTION

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a non-invasive telemonitoring intervention on mortality, healthcare costs, and hospital and pharmaceutical utilisation in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) of a large statutory health insurer in Germany.

METHODS

In a retrospective observational cohort study using real-world data, we assessed differences between 635 patients who received a telemonitoring intervention versus 635 receiving usual care covering 36 months after intervention. We used propensity score matching on a set of 102 parameters collected in the 24-month pre-intervention period to correct for observed differences, as well as difference-in-difference (DiD) estimators to account for unobserved differences. We analysed the effect of the intervention for up to three years on (i) all-cause mortality; (ii) costs (i.e. inpatient stays, ambulatory care, pharmaceuticals, and medical aids and appliances); and (iii) healthcare utilisation (i.e. length and number of hospital stays, number of prescriptions).

RESULTS

DiD estimates suggest lower inpatient costs of the telemonitoring group of up to €1160 (95% confidence interval (CI): -2253 to -69) in year three. Ambulatory care costs increased significantly in all three years up to €316 (95% CI: 1267 to 505) per year. Telemonitoring had a positive effect on survival (hazard ratio = 0.71; 95% CI: 0.51 to 0.99) and increased the number of prescriptions for diuretics. Effects were more prominent for patients with severe CHF.

DISCUSSION

The study suggests that the telemonitoring intervention led to a significant decrease in mortality and a shift in costs from the inpatient to the ambulatory care sector 36 months after intervention.

Real-world treatment switching to sacubitril/valsartan in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction: A cohort study

Background

Sacubitril/valsartan is an effective treatment for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) based on clinical trial data. However, little is known about its use or impact in real-world practice. The aim of this study was to describe our routine clinical experience of switching otherwise optimally treated patients with HFrEF to sacubitril/valsartan with respect to patient outcomes such as quality of life (QoL) and echocardiographic variables.

Methods and results

From June 2017 to May 2019, 80 consecutive stable patients with HFrEF on established and maximally tolerated guideline-directed HF therapies were initiated on sacubitril/valsartan with bimonthly uptitration. Clinical assessment, biochemistry, echocardiography and QoL were compared pretreatment and post-treatment switching. We were able to successfully switch 89% of patients from renin–angiotensin axis inhibitors to sacubitril/valsartan (71 of 80 patients). After 3 months of switch therapy, we observed clinically significant and incremental improvements in blood pressure (systolic blood pressure 123 vs 112 mm Hg, p<0.001; diastolic blood pressure 72 vs 68 mm Hg, p=0.004), New York Heart Association functional classification score (2.3 vs 1.9, p<0.001), Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire score (46 vs 38, p=0.016), left ventricular ejection fraction (26% vs 33%, p<0.001) and left ventricular end systolic diameter (5.2 vs 4.9 cm, p=0.013) compared with baseline. There were no significant changes in renal function or serum potassium.

Conclusion

This study provides real-world clinical practice data demonstrating incremental improvements in functional and echocardiographic outcomes in optimally treated patients with HFrEF switched to sacubitril/valsartan. The data provide evidence beyond that observed in clinical trial settings of the potential benefits of sacubitril/valsartan when used as part of a multidisciplinary heart failure programme.

Insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 7 and risk of congestive heart failure hospitalization in patients with atrial fibrillation

BACKGROUND

The occurrence of congestive heart failure (CHF) hospitalization among patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) is a poor prognostic marker.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to assess whether insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 7 (IGFBP-7), a marker of myocardial damage, identifies AF patients at high risk for this complication.

METHODS

We analyzed 2 prospective multicenter observational cohort studies that included 3691 AF patients. Levels of IGFBP-7 and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) were measured from frozen plasma samples at baseline. The primary endpoint was hospitalization for CHF. Multivariable adjusted Cox regression analyses were constructed.

RESULTS

Mean patient age was 69 ± 12 years, 1028 (28%) were female, and 879 (24%) had a history of CHF. The incidence per 1000 patient-years across increasing IGFBP-7 quartiles was 7, 10, 32, and 85. The corresponding multivariable adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) (95% confidence interval [CI]) were 1.0, 1.05 (0.63-1.77), 2.38 (1.50-3.79), and 4.37 (2.72-7.04) (P for trend <.001). In a subgroup of 2812 patients without pre-existing CHF at baseline, the corresponding aHRs were 1.0, 0.90 (0.47-1.72), 1.69 (0.94-3.04), and 3.48 (1.94-6.24) (P for trend <.001). Patients with IGFBP-7 and NT-proBNP levels above the biomarker-specific median had a higher risk of incident CHF hospitalization (aHR 5.20; 3.35-8.09) compared to those with only 1 elevated marker (elevated IGFBP-7 aHR 2.17; 1.30-3.60); elevated NT-proBNP aHR 1.97; 1.17-3.33); or no elevated marker (reference).

CONCLUSION

Higher plasma levels of IGFBP-7 were strongly and independently associated with CHF hospitalization in AF patients. The prognostic information provided by IGFBP-7 was additive to that of NT-proBNP.

Economic implications of adding a novel algorithm to optimize cardiac resynchronization therapy: rationale and design of economic analysis for the AdaptResponse trial

AIMS

Although cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) has proven beneficial in several randomized trials, a subset of patients have limited clinical improvement. The AdaptivCRT algorithm provides automated selection between synchronized left ventricular or biventricular pacing with optimization of atrioventricular delays. The rationale and design of the economic analysis of the AdaptResponse clinical trial are described.

RATIONALE

The costs associated with HF hospitalization are substantial and are compounded by a high rate of readmission. HF hospitalization payments range from $1,001 for Greece to $12,235 for US private insurance. When examining the breakdown of HF-related costs, it is clear that approximately 55% of the hospitalization costs are directly attributable to length of stay. Notably, the mean costs of a CRT patient in need of a HF-related hospitalization are currently estimated to be an average of $10,679.

METHODS

The economic analysis of the AdaptResponse trial has two main objectives. The hospital provider objective seeks to test the hypothesis that AdaptivCRT reduces the incidence of all-cause re-admissions after a heart failure admission within 30 days of the index event. A negative binomial regression model will be used to estimate and compare the number of readmissions after an index HF hospitalization. The payer economic objective will assess cost-effectiveness of CRT devices with the AdaptivCRT algorithm relative to traditional CRT programming. This analysis will be conducted from a U.S. payer perspective. A decision analytic model comprised of a 6-month decision tree and a Markov model for long term extrapolation will be used to evaluate lifetime costs and benefits.

CONCLUSION

AdaptivCRT may offer improvements over traditional device programming in patient outcomes. How the data from AdaptResponse will be used to demonstrate if these clinical benefits translate into substantial economic gains is herein described.

Design of synthetic microenvironments to promote the maturation of human pluripotent stem cell derived cardiomyocytes

Cardiomyocyte like cells derived from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSC-CMs) have a good application perspective in many fields such as disease modeling, drug screening and clinical treatment. However, these are severely hampered by the fact that hPSC-CMs are immature compared to adult human cardiomyocytes. Therefore, many approaches such as genetic manipulation, biochemical factors supplement, mechanical stress, electrical stimulation and three-dimensional culture have been developed to promote the maturation of hPSC-CMs. Recently, establishing in vitro synthetic artificial microenvironments based on the in vivo development program of cardiomyocytes has achieved much attention due to their inherent properties such as stiffness, plasticity, nanotopography and chemical functionality. In this review, the achievements and deficiency of reported synthetic microenvironments that mainly discussed comprehensive biological, chemical, and physical factors, as well as three-dimensional culture were mainly discussed, which have significance to improve the microenvironment design and accelerate the maturation of hPSC-CMs.

Cost-effectiveness of dapagliflozin as a treatment for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction: a multinational health-economic analysis of DAPA-HF

AIM

To estimate the cost-effectiveness of dapagliflozin added to standard therapy, vs. standard therapy only, in patients with heart failure (HF) with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), from the perspective of UK, German, and Spanish payers.

METHODS AND RESULTS

A lifetime Markov model was built to estimate outcomes in patients with HFrEF. Health states were defined by Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire total symptom score, type 2 diabetes and worsening HF events. The incidence of worsening HF and all-cause mortality was estimated using negative binomial regression models and parametric survival analysis, respectively. Direct healthcare costs (2019 British pounds/Euro) and patient-reported outcomes (EQ-5D) were sourced from the existing literature and the Dapagliflozin And Prevention of Adverse-outcomes in Heart Failure trial (DAPA-HF), respectively; the median duration of follow-up in DAPA-HF was 18.2 months (range: 0-27.8). Future costs and effects were discounted at 3.0% for the Spanish and German analyses and 3.5% for the UK analysis. In the UK setting, treatment with dapagliflozin was estimated to increase life-years and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) from 5.62 to 6.20 (+0.58) and 4.13 to 4.61 (+0.48), respectively, and reduce lifetime hospitalizations for HF (925 and 820 events per 1000 patients for placebo and dapagliflozin, respectively). Similar results were obtained for Germany and Spain. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were £5822, €5379 and €9406/QALY in the UK, Germany and Spain, respectively. In probabilistic sensitivity analyses, more than 90% of simulations were cost-effective at a willingness-to-pay threshold of £20 000/QALY in UK and €20 000/QALY in Germany and Spain.

CONCLUSION

Dapagliflozin is likely to be a cost-effective treatment for HFrEF in the UK, German and Spanish healthcare systems.

The clinical implication of new-onset in-hospital atrial fibrillation in patients with acute decompensated heart failure

BACKGROUND

To investigate the clinical implication of the temporal difference in atrial fibrillation (AF)-onset in acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) and its impact on post-discharge prognosis.

METHODS

336 new-onset ADHF patients without any history of AF before admission were enrolled (201 males, 63 ± 16 year-old) and classified into two groups based on their history of AF: the Control group (No AF was detected during hospitalization, n = 278), and the In-hos-AF group (AF occurred during hospitalization, n = 58). Post discharge prognosis including rehospitalization due to worsening HF, cardiac death, all-cause death and cerebrovascular event were compared.

RESULTS

Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated that the incidence of rehospitalization due to HF, cardiac death, all-cause death and cerebrovascular event in the In-hos-AF group was not significantly different from that in the Control group (P > 0.05 respectively). However, when AF recurred in the In-hos-AF group patients (n = 24, 41%) after discharge, the incidence of rehospitalization due to HF and cardiac deaths were higher than those without AF recurrence (P = 0.018 and P = 0.027 respectively). Cox proportional analysis revealed that AF developing after discharge was proven to be an independent risk factor for rehospitalization due to HF (HR 1.845, P = 0.043), cardiac death (HR 3.562, P = 0.013) and all-cause deaths (HR 2.138, P = 0.020).

CONCLUSION

Clinical outcomes of new-onset in-hospital AF patients were as good as those without AF history until AF recurrence. However, AF recurrence led to worse prognosis. Therefore, treatment for new-onset in-hospital AF in ADHF patients might be postponed until AF recurrence.

Cardiac cachexia: the mandate to increase clinician awareness

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Heart failure is a frequent problem in an ageing population, associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality. Today, it is important to not only treat heart failure itself but also the related comorbidities. Among them, cardiac cachexia is one of the major challenges. It is a complex multifactorial disease with a negative impact on quality of life and prognosis. Therefore, prevention, early recognition and treatment of cardiac cachexia is essential.

RECENT FINDINGS

Cardiac cachexia frequently presents with skeletal as well as heart muscle depletion. Imaging-based diagnostic techniques can help to identify patients with cardiac cachexia and muscle wasting. Several blood biomarkers are available to detect metabolic changes in cardiac cachexia.

SUMMARY

Several studies are currently ongoing to better comprehend the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms of cardiac cachexia and to find new treatments. It is essential to diagnose it as early as possible to initiate therapy.

Humanistic burden and economic impact of heart failure – a systematic review of the literature

Background: Heart failure (HF) is increasing in prevalence worldwide. This systematic review was conducted to inform understanding of its humanistic and economic burden. Methods: Electronic databases (Embase, MEDLINE®, and Cochrane Library) were searched in May 2017. Data were extracted from studies reporting health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in 200 patients or more (published 2007–2017), or costs and resource use in 100 patients or more (published 2012–2017). Relevant HRQoL studies were those that used the 12- or 36-item Short-Form Health Surveys, EuroQol Group 5-dimensions measure of health status, Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire or Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire. Results: In total, 124 studies were identified: 54 for HRQoL and 71 for costs and resource use (Europe: 25/15; North America: 24/50; rest of world/multinational: 5/6). Overall, individuals with HF reported worse HRQoL than the general population and patients with other chronic diseases. Some evidence identified supports a correlation between increasing disease severity and worse HRQoL. Patients with HF incurred higher costs and resource use than the general population and patients with other chronic conditions. Inpatient care and hospitalizations were identified as major cost drivers in HF. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that patients with HF experience worse HRQoL and incur higher costs than individuals without HF or patients with other chronic diseases. Early treatment of HF and careful disease management to slow progression and to limit the requirement for hospital admission are likely to reduce both the humanistic burden and economic impact of HF.

A 10-Year Trend Analysis of Heart Failure in the Less Developed Brazil

BACKGROUND

Data on heart failure (HF) epidemiology in less developed areas of Brazil are scarce.

OBJECTIVE

Our aim was to determine the HF morbidity and mortality in Paraiba and Brazil and its 10-year trends.

METHODS

A retrospective search was conducted from 2008 to 2017 using the DATASUS database and included patients ≥ 15 years old with a primary diagnosis of HF. Data on in-hospital and population morbidity and mortality were collected and stratified by year, gender and age. Pearson correlation and linear-by-linear association test for trends were calculated, with a level of significance of 5%.

RESULTS

From 2008 to 2017, HF admissions decreased 62% (p = 0.004) in Paraiba and 34% (p = 0.004) in Brazil. The in-hospital mortality rate increased in Paraiba and Brazil [65.1% (p = 0.006) and 30.1% (p = 0.003), respectively], but the absolute in-hospital mortality had a significant decrease only in Paraiba [37.5% (p = 0.013)], which was maintained after age stratification, except for groups 15-19, 60-69 and > 80 years. It was observed an increase in the hospital stay [44% (p = 0.004) in Paraiba and 12.3% (p = 0.004) in Brazil]. From 2008 to 2015, mortality rate for HF in the population decreased 10.7% (p = 0.047) in Paraiba and 7.7% (p = 0.017) in Brazil.

CONCLUSIONS

Although HF mortality rate has been decreasing in Paraiba and Brazil, an increase in the in-hospital mortality rate and length of stay for HF has been observed. Hospital-based clinical studies should be performed to identify the causes for these trends of increase.

Application of Transition-Metal Catalysis, Biocatalysis, and Flow Chemistry as State-of-the-Art Technologies in the Synthesis of LCZ696

LCZ696 is a novel treatment for patients suffering from heart failure that combines the two active pharmaceutical ingredients sacubitril and valsartan in a single chemical compound. While valsartan is an established drug substance, a new manufacturing process suitable for large-scale commercial production had to be developed for sacubitril. The use of chemocatalysis, biocatalysis, and flow chemistry as state-of-the-art technologies allowed to efficiently build up the structure of sacubitril and achieve the defined performance targets.

Recurrent heart failure hospitalizations are associated with increased cardiovascular mortality in patients with heart failure in Clinical Practice Research Datalink

Aims

Heart failure (HF) is a leading cause of hospitalization and is associated with high morbidity and mortality post‐diagnosis. Here, we examined the impact of recurrent HF hospitalization (HFH) on cardiovascular (CV) and all‐cause mortality among HF patients.

Methods and Results

Adult HF patients identified in the Clinical Practice Research Datalink with a first (index) hospitalization due to HF recorded in the Hospital Episode Statistics data set from January 2010 to December 2014 were included. Patients were followed up until death or end of study (December 2017). CV mortality as primary and as any reported cause and all‐cause mortality were evaluated. An extended Cox regression model was used for reporting adjusted relative CV mortality rates for time‐dependent recurrent HFHs. Overall, 8603 HF patients with an index hospitalization were included, providing 15 964 patient‐years of follow‐up. Patients were relatively old (median age: 80 years) and were mostly male (54.6%), with main co‐morbidities being hypertension and atrial fibrillation. Recurrent HFHs occurred one, two, three, and more than four times in 1561 (18.2%), 518 (6.02%), 206 (2.4%), and 153 (1.8%) patients, respectively. The median time to mortality was 215 (38–664) days for 50.8% of patients who died for any cause during the study period and 139 (27–531) days for 31.3% who died with CV reasons as primary cause. Compared with those of patients without recurrent HFHs, the adjusted hazard ratios (95% CI) for CV mortality as primary cause were 2.65 (2.35–2.99), 3.69 (3.06–4.43), 5.82 (4.48–7.58), and 5.95 (4.40–8.05) for those with one, two, three, and more than four recurrent HFHs.

Conclusions

There is a strong association between recurrent HFH and CV mortality, with the risk increasing progressively with each recurrent HFH.

MicroRNAs in cardiovascular disease

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the predominant cause of human morbidity and mortality in developed countries. Currently, microRNAs have been investigated in many diseases as well-promising biomarkers for diagnosis, prognosis, and disease monitoring. Plenty studies have been designed so as to elucidate the properties of microRNAs in the classification and risk stratification of patients with CVD and also to evaluate their potentials in individualized management and guide treatment decisions. Therefore, in this review article, we aimed to present the most recent data concerning the role of microRNAs as potential novel biomarkers for cardiovascular disease.

Hypoalbuminemia as a marker of protein metabolism disarrangement in patients with stable chronic heart failure

BACKGROUND

Despite therapeutic advances, chronic heart failure (CHF)-related mortality and hospitalization is still unacceptably high. Evidence shows that muscular wasting, sarcopenia, cachexia are independent predictors of mortality and morbidity in CHF and are signs of protein metabolism disarrangement (PMD), which involve all body proteins including circulating one. We postulate that circulating human serum albumin (HSA) could be a marker of PMD and catabolic low-grade inflammation (LGI) in CHF patients.

METHODS

One hundred sixty-six stable CHF patients (73% males), with optimized therapy referred to cardiac rehabilitation, were retrospectively divided into three groups based on their HSA concentration: ≥3.5 g/dL (normal value), 3.2-3.49 g/dL (low value); ≤3.19 g/dL (severe value). Hematochemical analyses (including circulating proteins and inflammatory markers) and body mass composition (by Bioelectrical Impedance Vector Analysis) were collected and compared. Correlations and multivariate regression were performed.

RESULTS

Despite being overweight (BMI=27 kg/m2), 75% of patients had reduced HSA (<3.5 g/dL) with suspectable sarcopenia, and 35% of all patients had remarkably lower albumin concentrations (<3.19 g/dL). Hypoalbuminemic patients were disable, older, with reduced muscular proteins, bilirubin and hemoglobin, increased extracellular water and LGI (P<0.01). HSA correlated with all of these parameters (all: P<0.01). Age, LGI, BMI, free-fat Mass, and bilirubin were independent predictors of HSA concentration. All these findings were male-dependent.

CONCLUSIONS

HSA could be considered a simple marker of PMD and LGI in CHF patients. Evaluation of PMD and gender differences should be considered in new CHF clinical trials.

Economic impact of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: insights from the ALDO-DHF trial

Aims

Although heart failure (HF) with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is a leading cause for hospitalization, its overall costs remain unclear.

Therefore, we assessed the health care‐related costs of ambulatory HFpEF patients and the effect of spironolactone.

Methods and results

The aldosterone receptor blockade in diastolic HF trial is a multicentre, prospective, randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled trial conducted between March 2007 and April 2011 at 10 sites in Germany and Austria that included 422 ambulatory patients [mean age: 67 years (standard deviation: 8); 52% women]. All subjects suffered from chronic New York Heart Association (NYHA) class II or III HF and preserved left ventricular ejection fraction of 50% or greater. They also showed evidence of diastolic dysfunction.

Patients were randomly assigned to receive 25 mg of spironolactone once daily (n = 213) or matching placebo (n = 209) with 12 months of follow‐up. We used a single‐patient approach to explore the resulting general cost structure and included medication, number of general practitioner and cardiologist visits, and hospitalization in both acute and rehabilitative care facilities.

The average annual costs per patient in this cohort came up to €1, 118 (±2,475), and the median costs were €332. We confirmed that the main cost factor was hospitalization and spironolactone did not affect the overall costs. We identified higher HF functional class (NYHA), male patients with low haemoglobin level, with high oxygen uptake (VO₂max) and coronary artery disease, hyperlipidaemia, and atrial fibrillation as independent predictors for higher costs.

Conclusions

In this relatively young, oligosymptomatic, and with regard to the protocol without major comorbidities patient cohort, the overall costs are lower than expected compared with the HFrEF population. Further investigation is needed to investigate the impact of, for example, comorbidities and their effect over a longer period of time. Simultaneously, this analysis suggests that prevention of comorbidities are necessary to reduce costs in the health care system.

Health-related quality of life and readmission of patients with cardiovascular disease in South Korea

AIMS

The purpose of this study was to investigate the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of patients with cardiovascular disease and its relationship to hospital readmission.

METHODS

The cross-sectional study used data from 1037 adults aged ⩾19 years diagnosed with myocardial infarction or angina pectoris. Raw data were obtained from the fourth to sixth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2007-2014).

RESULTS

Readmission was found to be associated with age, living status, education level, unemployment, individual income level, stroke, osteoarthritis, diabetes, depression, low stress level, walking days per week, and activity limitations due to cardiovascular disease.

CONCLUSION

In summary, readmission was related to HRQOL among patients with myocardial infarction. Interventions that consider efforts to reduce readmission through improved diagnosis and development of systematic management of cardiovascular disease symptoms are required.

Artificial intelligence supported patient self-care in chronic heart failure: a paradigm shift from reactive to predictive, preventive and personalised care

Heart failure (HF) is one of the most complex chronic disorders with high prevalence, mainly due to the ageing population and better treatment of underlying diseases. Prevalence will continue to rise and is estimated to reach 3% of the population in Western countries by 2025. It is the most important cause of hospitalisation in subjects aged 65 years or more, resulting in high costs and major social impact. The current "one-size-fits-all" approach in the treatment of HF does not result in best outcome for all patients. These facts are an imminent threat to good quality management of patients with HF. An unorthodox approach from a new vision on care is required. We propose a novel predictive, preventive and personalised medicine approach where patients are truly leading their management, supported by an easily accessible online application that takes advantage of artificial intelligence. This strategy paper describes the needs in HF care, the needed paradigm shift and the elements that are required to achieve this shift. Through the inspiring collaboration of clinical and high-tech partners from North-West Europe combining state of the art HF care, artificial intelligence, serious gaming and patient coaching, a virtual doctor is being created. The results are expected to advance and personalise self-care, where standard care tasks are performed by the patients themselves, in principle without involvement of healthcare professionals, the latter being able to focus on complex conditions. This new vision on care will significantly reduce costs per patient while improving outcomes to enable long-term sustainability of top-level HF care.

The Economic Impact of Mitral Regurgitation on Patients With Medically Managed Heart Failure

The objective of this study was to quantify the financial healthcare burden of mitral regurgitation (MR) on medically managed heart failure (HF) patients. Data from the Truven Health MarketScan Commercial Claims and Medicare Supplemental Databases were analyzed. Included patients had a minimum of 1 inpatient or 2 outpatient claims for HF with a 6-month preperiod (baseline). A 6-month postperiod (landmark) after HF index was used to capture MR diagnosis and severity. Following the landmark period, patients had to have 12 months of continuous medical and prescription drug plan enrollment with at least 2 records of HF medication refills. A therapeutic intensity score was calculated based on HF medication usage. Medically managed HF patients were separated into 3 cohorts: without MR (no MR), insignificant MR (iMR), and significant MR (sMR). Healthcare utilization and all-cause expenditures were modeled to quantify the burden of MR. All models controlled for baseline demographics, co-morbid conditions, and HF therapeutic intensity. Medically managed incident HF patients with sMR had significantly more hospital days (1.91 vs 1.72 days; p = 0.0096) and annual expenditures ($23,988 vs $21,530; p < 0.0001) compared with no MR patients. No differences were identified when comparing iMR and no MR. When evaluating HF admissions, sMR patients had an estimated 50% greater HF admissions rate (0.036 vs 0.024; p < 0.0001) compared with no MR patients. Additionally, HF admits for iMR were 23% more than those with no MR (0.029 vs 0.024; p = 0.0064). In conclusion, evidence of MR in retrospective claims significantly increases the healthcare impact of medically managed HF patients. Both utilization and financial burden is more pronounced when MR is clinically significant.

What Next After Metformin? Thinking Beyond Glycaemia: Are SGLT2 Inhibitors the Answer?

The prevalence of type 2 diabetes continues to increase, along with a proliferation of glucose-lowering treatment options. There is universal agreement in the clinical community for the use of metformin as the first-line glucose-lowering therapy for the majority of patients. However, controversy exists regarding the choice of second-line therapy once metformin is no longer effective. The most recent treatment consensus focuses on the presence of cardiovascular disease, heart failure or kidney disease as a determinant of therapy choice. The majority of patients in routine practice, however, do not fall into such categories. Heart failure and kidney disease represent significant clinical and cost considerations in patients with type 2 diabetes and have a close pathophysiological association. Recent data has illustrated that sodium-glucose transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor therapy can reduce the burden of heart failure and the progression of renal disease across a wide range of patients including those with and without established disease, supported by an increased understanding of the mechanistic effects of these agents. Furthermore, there is growing evidence to illustrate the overall safety profile of this class of agents and support the benefit-risk profile of SGLT2 inhibitors as a preferred option following metformin monotherapy failure, with respect to both kidney disease progression and heart failure outcomes.