NEAT HFpEF: Organic nitrates fail to deliver

Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction: Pathogenesis, Diagnosis, Exercise, and Medical Therapies

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) accounts for more than one-half of total heart failure cases, with a high prevalence and poor prognosis, especially in older and female patients. Patients with HFpEF are characterized by hypertension, left ventricular hypertrophy, and diastolic dysfunction, and the main symptoms are dyspnea and exercise intolerance. HFpEF is currently poorly studied, and pharmacological treatment for HFpEF is still underexplored. Accumulating clinical trials have shown that exercise could exert benefits on diastolic dysfunction and quality of life in patients with HFpEF. However, there is a high limitation for applying exercise therapy due to exercise intolerance in patients with HFpEF. Key effectors of exercise-protection could be novel therapeutic targets for developing drugs to prevent and treat HFpEF. In this review article, we provide an overview of the pathogenic factors, diagnostic methods, research animal models, the mechanisms of exercise-mediated cardiac protection, and current treatments for HFpEF.

Myocardial Tissue Characterization in Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction: From Histopathology and Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Findings to Therapeutic Targets

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is a complex clinical syndrome responsible for high mortality and morbidity rates. It has an ever growing social and economic impact and a deeper knowledge of molecular and pathophysiological basis is essential for the ideal management of HFpEF patients. The association between HFpEF and traditional cardiovascular risk factors is known. However, myocardial alterations, as well as pathophysiological mechanisms involved are not completely defined. Under the definition of HFpEF there is a wide spectrum of different myocardial structural alterations. Myocardial hypertrophy and fibrosis, coronary microvascular dysfunction, oxidative stress and inflammation are only some of the main pathological detectable processes. Furthermore, there is a lack of effective pharmacological targets to improve HFpEF patients' outcomes and risk factors control is the primary and unique approach to treat those patients. Myocardial tissue characterization, through invasive and non-invasive techniques, such as endomyocardial biopsy and cardiac magnetic resonance respectively, may represent the starting point to understand the genetic, molecular and pathophysiological mechanisms underlying this complex syndrome. The correlation between histopathological findings and imaging aspects may be the future challenge for the earlier and large-scale HFpEF diagnosis, in order to plan a specific and effective treatment able to modify the disease's natural course.