Circulating purine compounds, uric acid, and xanthine oxidase/dehydrogenase relationship in essential hypertension and end stage renal disease

Purine nucleotide liberation and their metabolic rate of interconversion may be important in the development of hypertension and its renal consequences. In the present study, blood triphosphate (ATP), adenosine diphosphate (ADP), and adenosine monophosphate (AMP) breakdown pathway was evaluated in relation to uric acid concentration and xanthine dehydrogenase/xanthine oxidase (XDH/XO) in patients with essential hypertension, patients with chronic renal diseases on dialysis, and control individuals. The pattern of nucleotide catabolism was significantly shifted toward catabolic compounds, including ADP, AMP, and uric acid in patients on dialysis program. A significant fall of ATP was more expressed in a group of patients on dialysis program, compared with the control value (p<0.001), while ADP and AMP were significantly increased in both groups of patients compared with control healthy individuals (p<0.001), together with their final degradation product, uric acid (p<0.001). The index of ATP/ADP and ATP/uric acid showed gradual significant fall in both the groups, compared with the control value (p<0.001), near five times in a group on dialysis. Total XOD was up-regulated significantly in a group with essential hypertension, more than in a group on dialysis. The activity of XO, which dominantly contributes reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, significantly increased in dialysis group, more than in a group with essential hypertension. In conclusion, the examination of the role of circulating purine nucleotides and uric acid in pathogenesis of hypertension and possible development of renal disease, together with XO role in ROS production, may help in modulating their liberation and ROS production in slowing progression from hypertension to renal failure.

An inverse correlation between TNF alpha serum levels and heart rate variability in patients with heart failure

BACKGROUND

Recent evidence indicates that chronic heart failure (CHF) is accompanied by both activation of the immune system and autonomic imbalance. There is a growing body of evidence that increased levels of proinflammatory cytokines and other inflammatory markers have important roles as mediators of disease progression and markers of mortality in patients with CHF.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to investigate connection between autonomic imbalance [obtained by analysis of heart rate variability (HRV)] and activation of the immune system [as measured by serum levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α] in patients with chronic heart failure.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This cross-sectional study included 21 patients with CHF and 8 age- and gender-matched healthy control subjects. We assessed HRV by 24-hour electrocardiographic Holter monitoring and measured serum levels of TNF-α using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Clinical assessment and echocardiography were also performed.

RESULTS

There was an inverse correlation between serum level of TNF-α and a time-domain parameter of HRV - SDNN (r=-0.542, p<0.05). A similar result was found for HRV triangular index, a geometric measure of HRV (r=-0.556; p<0.05). The correlation was stronger for subjects with a diabetes mellitus, females, and TNFA2 allele carriers (an "A" at position -308A). The pNN50, indirect marker of cardiac vagal activity, was not significantly associated with serum concentration of TNF-α.

CONCLUSIONS

In conclusion, the results of the present study indicate that increased serum TNF-α level is significantly associated with reduced HRV indices, suggesting that activation of the immune system in patients with CHF is closely related to autonomic imbalance.

Prognostic Value of Dynamic Changes in Pulmonary Congestion During Exercise Stress Echocardiography in Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction

BACKGROUND

Patients with heart failure (HF) with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) typically develop dyspnea and pulmonary congestion upon exercise. Lung ultrasound is a simple diagnostic tool, providing semiquantitative assessment of extravascular lung water through B-lines. It has been shown that patients with HFpEF develop B-lines upon submaximal exercise stress echocardiography; however, whether exercise-induced pulmonary congestion carries prognostic implications is unknown. This study aimed at evaluating the prognostic value of B-line assessment during exercise in patients with HFpEF.

METHODS

Sixty-one New York Heart Association class I to II patients with HFpEF underwent standard echocardiography, lung ultrasound (28-scanning point method), and BNP (B-type natriuretic peptide) assessment during supine exercise echocardiography (baseline and peak exercise). The primary end point was a composite of cardiovascular death or HF hospitalization at 1 year.

RESULTS

B-lines, E/e', and BNP significantly increased during exercise (P<0.001 for all). By multivariable analysis, both peak (hazard ratio, 1.50 [95% CI, 1.21-1.85], P<0.001), and change (hazard ratio 1.34 [95% CI, 1.12-1.62], P=0.002) B-lines were retained as independent predictors of outcome (hazard ratios per 1 B-line increment), along with BNP and E/e' ratio. Importantly, adding peak B-line on top of a clinical model significantly improved prognostic accuracy (C-index increase, 0.157 [0.056-0.258], P=0.002) and net reclassification (continuous net reclassification improvement, 0.51 [0.09-0.74], P=0.016), with similar results for B-line change.

CONCLUSIONS

Detection of exercise-induced pulmonary congestion by lung ultrasound is an independent predictor of outcome in patients with HFpEF; its use may help refining the routine risk stratification of these patients on top of well-established clinical variables.

Exercise-induced B-lines in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction occur along with diastolic function worsening

Aims

Pulmonary congestion during exercise assessed by lung ultrasound predicts negative outcome in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). We aimed at assessing predictors of exercise‐induced pulmonary B‐lines in HFpEF patients.

Methods and results

Eighty‐one I–II NYHA class HFpEF patients (65.0  ± 8.2 y/o, 56.8% females) underwent standard and strain echocardiography, lung ultrasound, and natriuretic peptide assessment during supine exercise echocardiography (baseline and peak exercise). Peak values and their changes were compared in subgroups according to exercise lung congestion grading (peak B‐lines >10 or ≤10). Exercise elicited significant changes for all echocardiographic parameters in both subgroups [39/81 (48.1%) with peak B‐lines >10; 42/81 (51.9%) with B‐lines ≤10]. Peak values and changes of E‐wave (and its derived indices) were significantly higher in patients with >10 peak B‐lines compared with those with ≤10 B‐line (all P‐values <0.03), showing significant correlation with peak B‐lines for all parameters; concomitantly, global longitudinal strain (GLS) and global strain rate (GSR) during systole (GSRs), early (GSRe) and late (GSRa) diastole, and isovolumic relaxation (GSRivr) were reduced in patients with B‐lines >10 (all P‐values <0.05), showing a negative correlation with peak B‐lines. By adjusted linear regression analysis, peak and change diastolic parameters (E‐wave, E/e′, GSRivr, and E/GSRivr) and peak GLS were individually significantly associated with peak B‐lines. By covariate‐adjusted multivariable model, E/e′ and GSRa at peak exercise were retained as independent predictors of peak B‐lines, with substantial goodness of fit of model (adjusted R² 0.776).

Conclusions

In HFpEF, development of pulmonary congestion upon exercise is mostly concomitant with exercise‐induced worsening of diastolic function.

Does HAS-BLED risk score underestimate the risk of bleeding in patients with triple antithrombotic therapy?

stroke or other thromboembolic complications in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). On the other hand, dual antiplatelet therapy (aspirin plus P2Y12 inhibitor) represents a cornerstone in the treatment of acute coronary syndrome. Atrial fibrillation is relatively common in patients with coronary artery disease and patients who undergo primary percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) with stent implantation. They should be on triple antithrombotic therapy (TAT): preferably direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC) plus aspirin plus clopidogrel as it prevents ischemic as well as thromboembolic events. Before introducing OAT in patients with AF we must assess the risk of future bleeding episodes as OAT can lead to some life-threatening bleeding events. The most common risk score used for that purpose is HASBLED score. HAS-BLED score is valuable, proven tool in assessing future bleeding events in patients with AF. Nevertheless, it does not make the difference between dual and triple antithrombotic therapy which can be of great importance in preventing bleeding events.

Adiponectin resistance parameter as a marker for high normal blood pres-sure and hypertension in patients with metabolic syndrome

INTRODUCTION

The different degrees of adiponectin/insulin sensitivity and dysfunctional adipose tissue lead to the development of hypertension (HT). This study aimed to determine adiponectin (AD) concentration in patients with metabolic syndrome (MetS) and high-normal blood pressure or hypertension and to investigate the importance of Homeostatic Model Assessment-AD (HOMA-AD) index in assessing adiponectin/insulin resistance in hypertension.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study involved 150 subjects divided into two groups: with MetS (and high-normal blood pressure, n =50; and HT, n =50), and controls without MetS (n =50). In all subjects, serum adiponectin concentration was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method. Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) and HOMA-AD index were calculated.

RESULTS

The results showed that, compared to the control group, serum AD concentrations were significantly lower in patients with MetS and high-normal blood pressure (p =0.008), and the lowest in group MetS and HT (p =0.001). High AD levels and low HOMA-AD were significantly associated with decreased blood pressure values. In patients with MetS, the value of HOMA-AD≥1.13 was associated with a higher risk of developing high-normal blood pressure. Furthermore, the value of HOMA-AD≥2.63 was associated with a higher risk of developing hypertension.

CONCLUSIONS

Hypoadiponectinemia is associated with hypertension, especially in the early stages of the disease. The serum AD levels and HOMA-AD index may be useful markers for identifying patients at risk for high-normal blood pressure and hypertension. HIPPOKRATIA 2020, 24(1): 3-7.

Similarities and Differences in Epidemiology and Risk Factors of Cerebral and Myocardial Ischemic Disease

Ischemic heart disease and cerebral ischemia represent the leading causes of mortality worldwide. Both entities share risk factors, pathophisiology and etiologic aspects by means of a main common mechanism, atherosclerosis. The autors aimed to investigate differences and similarities in epidemiology and risk factors that could be found between both entities. In a retrospective sudy 403 patients were included and divided into two groups: group of 289 patients with history of myocardial infarction (AMI), and group of 114 patients with history of ischemic stroke (IS). All patients were evaluated for nonmodifiable risk faktors, which included age and sex, and modifiable, such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes, obesity, physical activity and smoking. Diff erences in some epidemiological aspects were also considered: occupation, marital status, alcohol consumption, exposure to stress. Patients with history of IS were significantly older then AMI patients (64.0 ± 9.9 vs 64.0 ± 9.9, p=0,028), with higher diastolic blood pressure (87,1 ± 10,2 vs 83,6 ± 10,4, p=0,003) and higher Sokolow-Lyon index in ECG, an also index of left ventricular hypertrophy (19,2 ± 9,1 vs 14,7 ± 6,5). Th ere were no significant differences between groups in the estimated body mass index and waist circumference. Differences between groups in stress exposure, occupation, alcohol consumption or physical activity were no significant. Patients in AMI group were more frequently male (199 (69%) vs 59 (52%), p=0,001), married (252 (87%) vs 88 (77%), p=0,037), smokers (162 (56%) vs 50 (44%), p=0,018) and with higher incidence od dyslipidemia (217 (75%) vs 73 (64%), p=0,019) compared with IS group. Incidence of arterial hypertension and diabetes was similar in both groups. Both entities share similar pathophysiological mechanisms and, consequently, main traditional risk factors. However, incidence of myocardial infarction increases with male sex, dyslipidemia, smoking and marital status, while incidense of ischemic stroke increases with age, higher diastolic blood pressure and also with ECG signs of left ventricular hypertrophy.

Exercise-induced B-lines for the diagnosis of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: a two-centre study

BACKGROUND

Diagnosis of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) remains challenging despite the use of scores/algorithms. This study intended to assess the diagnostic value of exercise lung ultrasound (LUS) for HFpEF diagnosis.

METHODS

We studied two independent case-control studies of HFpEF patients and control subjects undergoing different exercise protocols: (i) submaximal exercise stress echocardiography (ESE) with LUS performed by expert cardiologists (N = 116, HFpEF = 65.5%), and (ii) maximal cycle ergometer test (CET) (N = 54, HFpEF = 50%) with LUS performed by unexperienced physicians shortly trained for the study. B-line kinetics (i.e. peak values and their changes from rest) were assessed.

RESULTS

In the ESE cohort, the C-index (95% CI) of peak B-lines for HFpEF diagnosis was 0.985 (0.968-1.000), whereas the C-index of rest and exercise HFA-PEFF scores (i.e. including stress echo findings) were < 0.90 (CI 0.823-0.949), and that of H2FPEF score was < 0.70 (CI 0.558-0.764). The C-index increase of peak B-lines on top of the above-mentioned scores was significant (C-index increase > 0.090 and P-value < 0.001 for all). Similar results were observed for change B-lines. Peak B-lines > 5 (sensitivity = 93.4%, specificity = 97.5%) and change B-lines > 3 (sensitivity = 94.7%, specificity = 87.5%) were the best cutoffs for HFpEF diagnosis. Adding peak or change B-lines on top of HFpEF scores and BNP significantly improved diagnostic accuracy. Peak B-lines showed a good diagnostic accuracy in the LUS beginner-led CET cohort (C-index = 0.713, 0.588-0.838).

CONCLUSIONS

Exercise LUS showed excellent diagnostic value for HFpEF diagnosis regardless of different exercise protocols/level of expertise, with additive diagnostic accuracy on top of available scores and natriuretic peptides.