[Safety and tolerance of beta-blocker treatment in elderly patients with heart failure. BETANIC study]. / Seguridad y tolerancia del tratamiento con bloqueadores beta en el paciente anciano con insuficiencia cardíaca. Estudio BETANIC.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Prescription of beta-blockers (BB) in elderly patients with heart failure (HF) is very low, and it probably owes to an excessive concern about the risk of adverse reactions. The objective of our study was to determine the safety and tolerance of BB in elderly patients with HF in an Internal Medicine clinical practice. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This observational prospective study of clinical practice included 119 patients older than 70 years with HF evaluated in 10 Internal Medicine services. Patients must have started treatment with BB (carvedilol or bisoprolol) within the last month. After 6 months of follow-up, the percentage of patients on BB, the dose achieved and the causes of withdrawal were analyzed. RESULTS: At the end of the study, 100 patients (84%) were on BB treatment. There were 3 deaths (2.5%), none related to BB use, and 6 losses to follow-up (5%). The treatment was stopped in 10 patients (8.4%). Maximum dose was achieved in 38.7% of the patients. Adverse reactions responsible for treatment withdrawal were: symptomatic hypotension (3 cases; 2.5%); asymptomatic hypotension (1 case; 0.8%); heart failure (2 cases; 1.7%); bradycardia (2 cases; 1.7%); bronchospasm (1 case; 0.8%); and unknown cause (1 case; 0.8%). CONCLUSIONS: BB are excellently tolerated in elderly patients with HF treated in an Internal Medicine setting.

[Acute myocardial ischemia and ventricular thrombus associated with pheochromocytoma]. / Isquemia miocárdica aguda y trombosis ventricular asociadas a feocromocitoma.

We describe a patient with a suprarenal pheochromocytoma that had a complex course with electrocardiographic findings characteristic of diffuse myocardial damage, normal findings on coronary angiography, and left intraventricular thrombus complicated by embolic stroke.

Heart failure with preserved and reduced ejection fraction: different phenotypes in old-elderly patients?

BACKGROUND: Patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFPEF) represent an important group of patients presenting in clinical practice. However, whether it is an earlier stage of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFREF) remains uncertain. We evaluated the potential progression of HFPEF to HFREF. METHODS AND RESULTS: We evaluated retrospectively 178 patients (mean age 80.5±5.8 years; 75.3% females) with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction from a specialized Internal Medicine unit, offering an integrated usual care. Diagnosis of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction was made according to European guidelines. The main objective was to evaluate the progression to systolic dysfunction, defined by left ventricular ejection fraction less than 45%. Mean baseline left ventricular ejection fraction was 64.6±7.2. After a mean follow-up of 24-months, mean baseline ejection fraction was 67.1±9.3%. Only five patients (2.8%) progressed to HFREF. Brain natriuretic peptide values were significantly higher in those patients who progressed. CONCLUSIONS: These results strongly suggest that heart failure with preserved and reduced ejection fraction could be distinct pathophysiological entities, at least in elderly patients.