Prospective Assessment of Frailty Using the Fried Criteria in Patients Undergoing Left Ventricular Assist Device Therapy

Frail patients are more prone to adverse events after cardiac surgery, particularly after implantation of left ventricular assist devices. Thus, frailty assessment may help identify patients unlikely to benefit from left ventricular assist device therapy. The purpose was to establish a suitable measure of frailty in adults with end-stage heart failure. In a prospective cohort of 75 patients (age 58 ± 12 years) with end-stage heart failure, we assessed the association between frailty (5-component Fried criteria) and the composite primary outcome of inpatient mortality or prolonged length of stay, as well as extubation status, time on ventilator, discharge status, and long-term mortality. Fried frailty criteria were met in 44 (59%) patients, but there was no association with the primary outcome (p = 0.10). However, an abridged set of 3 criteria (exhaustion, inactivity, and grip strength) was predictive of the primary outcome (odds ratio 2.9, 95% confidence interval 1.1 to 7.4), and of time to extubation and time to discharge. In patients with advanced heart failure, the 5-component Fried criteria may not be optimally sensitive to clinical differences. In conclusion, an abridged set of 3 frailty criteria was predictive of the primary outcome and several secondary outcomes, and may therefore be a clinically useful tool in this population.

Predictors of Rehospitalization Among Adults With Congenital Heart Disease Are Lesion Specific

BACKGROUND

Readmission is responsible for a large proportion of inpatient care costs in adult congenital heart disease. There are, however, few data available to identify at-risk patients or to suggest strategies for intervention to prevent rehospitalization.

METHODS AND RESULTS

We conducted an analysis of admissions in patients over the age of 18 years with a 3-digit International Classification of Diseases-Ninth Revision code of 745 to 747 from the State Inpatient Databases of Arkansas (2008-2010), California (2003-2012), Florida (2005-2012), Hawaii (2006-2010), Nebraska (2003-2011), and New York (2005-2012). We investigated index admission diagnoses most commonly associated with 1-year readmission and the most common reasons for readmission. We then selected variables we thought would be associated with increased rates of 1-year readmission and constructed multivariable regression models grouping patients by congenital lesion, to examine the relative contribution of the specified variables to readmission risk for each lesion. A total of 64 420 patients were included in the final analysis. Thirty-nine percent of patients experienced a readmission within 12 months of an index admission. Compared with those who did not experience a readmission, those who did were more likely to have had a primary diagnosis of congestive heart failure at the time of index admission, and the most common diagnoses at the time of readmission were congestive heart failure and arrhythmia. There is lesion-specific heterogeneity in risk factors for readmission.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with adult congenital heart disease have high rates of readmission, predominantly for congestive heart failure and arrhythmia. Predictors of readmission are lesion specific, and future strategies aimed at decreasing readmission rate will likely need to be individualized.

Lesion-Specific Factors Contributing to Inhospital Costs in Adults With Congenital Heart Disease

The population of adults with congenital heart disease (ACHD) in the United States is growing rapidly with concomitant increases in care costs. We sought to define the variables having the greatest influence on annual cost of inpatient care in patients with ACHD in the United States. To do so, we conducted a retrospective analysis of admissions in patients >18 years old with a 3-digit International Classification of Disease, Ninth Revision, code of 745 to 747 from the State Inpatient Databases of Arkansas (2008 to 2010), California (2003 to 2012), Florida (2005 to 2012), Hawaii (2006 to 2010), Nebraska (2003 to 2011), and New York (2005 to 2012). We selected variables we believed would have the greatest effect on care costs and built a series of multivariable regression models grouping patients by congenital lesion to examine the relative contribution of the specified variables to total annual inpatient cost. We analyzed a total of 68,314 patients aged 57 ± 18.6 years, 51% of whom were women. The multivariable regression model had an overall R(2) of 0.35. Readmission was responsible for 10.3% of annual inpatient cost among all patients with ACHD and had the greatest effect on inpatient care cost for each congenital lesion except Eisenmenger syndrome and conotruncal abnormalities, for both of which it was the second most significant contributor. Other major contributors to annual inpatient care costs included length of stay and operative procedures. In conclusion, rehospitalization is the most significant contributor to annual inpatient cost for individual patients with ACHD in the United States, regardless of underlying anatomy.

Effect of Ambrisentan on Exercise Capacity in Adult Patients After the Fontan Procedure

The Fontan operation is a common end point for children born with a single functional ventricle. Fontan patients typically experience physiological deterioration leading to transplant or death in their third or fourth decades of life. This deterioration is partially attributable to progressive increases in pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) and as such endothelin receptor antagonists, which are known to decrease pulmonary vascular resistance, have been proposed as potentially beneficial in this population. We conducted a single-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study of 12 weeks of ambrisentan therapy (10 mg per day) versus placebo to test the hypothesis that endothelin receptor antagonism will improve cardiopulmonary exercise test parameters and 36-item short form (SF-36) assessed quality of life in adult Fontan patients. Twenty-eight patients entered the trial, 19 patients completed the protocol. Ambrisentan therapy improved peak oxygen consumption by 1.7 ml/kg/min in patients who achieved a respiratory exchange ratio of >0.95 (p = 0.05) and decreased the slope of the ventilatory equivalent ratio for oxygen (-2.8, p = 0.019) in all completers. It did not change SF-36 physical function score compared with placebo (p = 0.28). Ambrisentan therapy resulted in a decrease in (-1.4 g/dl, p <0.001) with no change in liver or renal function. Therapy was generally well tolerated, with no greater rate of side effects than placebo. In conclusion, ambrisentan is well tolerated and improves exercise capacity in adult Fontan patients.

Increased Body Mass Index Is Associated with Congestive Heart Failure and Mortality in Adult Fontan Patients

OBJECTIVE

Obesity affects adults with congenital heart disease (CHD). The effect of an increased body mass index (BMI) with respect to morbidity and mortality has not been evaluated in adults with complex CHD. Our objective was to evaluate the effects of increased BMI on heart failure and mortality in univentricular patients who had undergone Fontan palliation.

METHODS

A query of Fontan patients' first appointments at the Washington University Center for Adults with CHD between 2007 and 2014 yielded 79 patients. BMI status as normal (<25 kg/m(2) ), overweight (≥25, <30 kg/m(2) ), and obese (≥30 kg/m(2) ) was established at the patient's first appointment. We analyzed demographics, diuretic requirements, New York Heart Association (NYHA) class, and laboratory values using Student's two-sample t-test and Fisher's exact test. Mortality was assessed via survival curves, and hazard ratios were compiled with proportional hazard modeling.

RESULTS

The recent average BMI was significantly greater in patients with NYHA classes II-IV (29.3 ± 9 kg/m(2) ) compared with asymptomatic patients (24.8 ± 5.1 kg/m(2) , P = .006). Additionally, the average BMI of patients with a high diuretic requirement (≥40 mg/day IV furosemide equivalent) was obese, at 32.15 ± 9.1 kg/m(2) , compared with 25.91 ± 7.3 kg/m(2) for those on no or lower doses of diuretics (P = .009). Eighteen of the 79 patients met an endpoint of death, hospice placement, or cardiac transplant by the study conclusion. Kaplan-Meier analysis from time of first appointment until recent follow-up revealed a significant association between time to combined endpoint and BMI class. Cox proportional hazard modeling with age adjustment yielded a hazard ratio of 3.2 (95% CI 1.096-9.379) for obesity upon first presentation to an adult CHD clinic.

CONCLUSIONS

In patients with univentricular hearts and Fontan palliation, obesity is associated with symptomatic heart failure and mortality.

Characteristics of the electrocardiogram in patients with continuous-flow left ventricular assist devices

BACKGROUND

Electrocardiograms (ECGs) are routinely obtained in patients with advanced congestive heart failure (CHF) before and after surgical implantation with a left-ventricular assist device (LVAD). As the number of patients with CHF is increasing, it is necessary to characterize the changes present in the ECG of patients with LVADs.

METHODS

ECGs of 43 patients pre- and postimplantation of a HeartMate II LVAD were compared to characterize the presence of an LVAD using the following six criteria (LVADS2 ): low limb-lead voltage, ventricular pacing, artifact (electrical), duration of the QRS > 120 milliseconds, ST-elevation in the lateral leads, and splintering of the QRS complex. Additionally, 50 ECGs of non-LVAD patients coded as "lateral myocardial infarction (MI)" and 50 ECGs coded as "ventricular pacing" were chosen at random and scored. Odds ratios were calculated using Fisher's exact test. Logistic regression models were built to predict the presence of an LVAD in all patients.

RESULTS

Univariate analysis of the pre- and post-LVAD ECGs confirmed that all criteria except the "Duration of QRS > 120 milliseconds" characterized the ECG of a patient with an LVAD. Electrical artifact and low limb-lead voltage yielded the greatest association with an LVAD-ECG.

CONCLUSIONS

The ECG of a patient with end-stage CHF significantly changes with LVAD implantation. The LVADS2 criteria provide a framework towards characterizing and establishing a new baseline of the ECG in a patient with a continuous-flow LVAD.

Slope of the anterior mitral valve leaflet: a new measurement of left ventricular unloading for left ventricular assist devices and systolic dysfunction

Left ventricular assist device (LVAD)-supported patients are evaluated routinely with use of transthoracic echocardiography. Values of left ventricular unloading in this unique patient population are needed to evaluate LVAD function and assist in patient follow-up. We introduce a new M-mode measurement, the slope of the anterior mitral valve leaflet (SLAM), and compare its efficacy with that of other standard echocardiographically evaluated values for left ventricular loading, including E/e' and pulmonary artery systolic pressures. Average SLAM values were determined retrospectively for cohorts of random, non-LVAD patients with moderately to severely impaired left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (<0.35, n=60). In addition, pre- and post-LVAD implantation echocardiographic images of 81 patients were reviewed. The average SLAM in patients with an LVEF <0.35 was 11.6 cm/s (95% confidence interval, 10.4-12.8); SLAM had a moderately strong correlation with E/e' in these patients. Implantation of LVADs significantly increased the SLAM from 7.3 ± 2.44 to 14.7 ± 5.01 cm/s (n=42, P <0.0001). The LVAD-supported patients readmitted for exacerbation of congestive heart failure exhibited decreased SLAM from 12 ± 3.93 to 7.3 ± 3.5 cm/s (n=6, P=0.041). In addition, a cutpoint of 10 cm/s distinguished random patients with LVEF <0.35 from those in end-stage congestive heart failure (pre-LVAD) with an 88% sensitivity and a 55% specificity. Evaluating ventricular unloading in LVAD patients remains challenging. Our novel M-mode value correlates with echocardiographic values of left ventricular filling in patients with moderate-to-severe systolic function and dynamically improves with the ventricular unloading of an LVAD.