High cardiac output state due to pelvic arterio-venous shunt: a case report and review of the literature.

We are presenting a 35-year-old woman with past medical history of disseminated leiomyomatosis who presented with heart failure symptoms and was found to have post-capillary pulmonary hypertension and high cardiac output state in right heart catheterization secondary to a huge pelvic arterio-venous fistula.

A Case of High-Output Heart Failure.

CASE PRESENTATION: A 55-year-old woman with a medical history of hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) complicated by recurrent nosebleeds, severe blood loss anemia, hepatic arterial-venous malformation (AVM), pulmonary hypertension, and severe tricuspid regurgitation presented to the HHT specialty clinic with acute hypoxic respiratory failure (new 3-L O2 requirement), weight gain, and volume overload. She was directly admitted to the pulmonary hypertension unit of our hospital. She had two recent admissions for similar symptoms thought to be due to worsening pulmonary arterial hypertension. In prior admissions, she had undergone right heart catheterization demonstrating mild pulmonary hypertension (pulmonary arterial pressure, 29 mm Hg, cardiac output by Fick 5.76, and cardiac index 3.22, mildly elevated pulmonary vascular resistance to 5.5 woods units). She would undergo diuresis with symptomatic improvement; however, after discharge she would rapidly develop recurrent heart failure symptoms. She reported compliance with guideline-directed medications, diuretics, and dietary restrictions and was still suffering severe symptoms. Notably she had previously elevated liver enzymes concerning for cirrhosis and had begun a workup to evaluate for causes of cirrhosis; she had a history of mild alcohol use, negative hepatitis viral serology, and no known history of liver disease.

Subaortic Membranes in Patients With Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia and Liver Vascular Malformations.

Background Patients with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia have liver vascular malformations that can cause high-output cardiac failure (HOCF). Known sequelae include pulmonary hypertension, tricuspid regurgitation, and atrial fibrillation. Methods and Results The objectives of this study were to describe the clinical, echocardiographic, and hemodynamic characteristics and prognosis of hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia patients with HOCF who were found to have a subaortic membrane (SAoM). A retrospective observational analysis comparing patients with and without SAoM was performed. Among a cohort of patients with HOCF, 9 were found to have a SAoM in the left ventricular outflow tract by echocardiography (all female, mean age 64.8±4.0 years). The SAoM was discrete and located in the left ventricular outflow tract 1.1±0.1 cm below the aortic annular plane. It caused turbulent flow, mild obstruction (peak velocity 2.8±0.2 m/s, peak gradient 32±4 mm Hg), and no more than mild aortic insufficiency. Patients with SAoM (n=9) had higher cardiac output (12.1±1.3 versus 9.3±0.7 L/min, P=0.04) and mean pulmonary artery pressures (36±3 versus 28±2 mm Hg, P=0.03) compared with those without SAoM (n=19) during right heart catheterization. Genetic analysis revealed activin receptor-like kinase 1 mutations in each of the 8 patients with SAoM who had available test results. The presence of a SAoM was associated with a trend towards higher 5-year mortality during follow-up. Conclusions SAoM with mild obstruction occurs in patients with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia and HOCF. SAoM was associated with features of more advanced HOCF and poor outcomes.

Intraoperative Ultrasound Guidance for Banding of an Arteriovenous Fistula Causing High Cardiac Output Heart Failure.

The creation of an arteriovenous fistula (AVF) is the preferred mode of access for hemodialysis in patients with End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). High output cardiac failure is a known but rare complication of AVF resulting from high flow volume. This case report describes the use of intraoperative ultrasound as a guide for the banding of an AVF to decrease flow volume in a patient with high cardiac output failure. The access was preserved, and a gradual decline of cardiac function before and recovery after banding is demonstrated over an 18-year period.

Features of high flow access in the elderly.

INTRODUCTION: The number of elderly hemodialysis patients continues to grow. The aim of this study was to investigate differences in elderly high flow access patients compared with middle-aged and young patients. METHODS: We performed a retrospective study to determine the characteristics of elderly patients (aged >60 years) following blood flow suppression procedures. Preoperative and postoperative data from 177 patients who underwent blood flow suppression procedures and 73 patients who underwent procedures for run-off vein ligation and subcutaneous fixation of the superficial artery were compared. RESULTS: A high proportion of young (aged 20-40 years) and middle-aged (aged 41-60 years) patients met the criteria for blood flow suppression procedures (flow volume 1500 mL/min, flow volume/cardiac output 35%), whereas a high proportion of elderly patients did not. Moreover, heart strain could evidently be caused even with low flow volume. In elderly patients, a tricuspid regurgitation pressure gradient and right heart strain were observed more frequently. CONCLUSION: Elderly patients who underwent blood flow suppression procedures or subcutaneous fixation of the superficial artery exhibited lower flow volume, and the effects of high flow access in elderly patients depend on the nature of vascular changes. Ultimately, the underlying conditions and hemodynamics of each patient must be determined on an individual basis.

Improved Diastolic Function Is Associated With Higher Cardiac Output in Patients With Heart Failure Irrespective of Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction.

BACKGROUND: Little is known regarding the impact of diastolic function on cardiac output (CO) in patients with heart failure, particularly in patients with lower ejection fraction. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of end-diastolic pressure-volume relationship (EDPVR) on CO and end-diastolic pressure (EDP). METHODS AND RESULTS: We retrospectively analyzed 1840 consecutive patients who underwent heart catheterization. We divided patients into 8 groups according to ejection fraction (EF) (35-45%, 46-55%, 56-65%, and 66-75%) and EDP (>16 or ≤16 mm Hg). We estimated EDPVR from single measurements in the catheterization data set. Then, we replaced EDPVRs of high-EDP groups with those of normal-EDP groups and compared CO before and after EDPVR replacement. Normalized EDPVR significantly increased CO at EDP=10 mm Hg regardless of EF (EF 35-45%, from 4.5±1.6 to 4.9±1.0; EF 46-55%, 4.6±1.3 to 5.1±1.1; EF 56-65%, 4.9±1.5 to 5.2±1.0; EF 66-75%, 4.9±1.5 to 5.2±1.1). Changes in CO were similar across EF groups. CONCLUSIONS: Diastolic function normalization was associated with higher CO irrespective of EF. Diastolic dysfunction plays an important role in determining CO irrespective of EF in heart failure patients.

Access flow reduction for cardiac failure.

High-flow in hemodialysis arteriovenous angioaccesses is frequent. It may result in high-output cardiac failure, which should be prevented by fistula flow reduction. The most frequently reported flow reduction procedure is banding but immediate and long-term results are questionable. Alternative techniques are related here with personal results. Juxta-anastomosis "Proximal Radial Artery Ligation" (PRAL) is a very simple and effective reduction technique for side-to-end radio-cephalic fistulas (82 patients; reduction rate [RR]: 54% ± 19%). For brachial artery-based fistulas flow reduction two variants of Revision Using Distal Inflow (RUDI) procedures are used: 1) RUDI-1 using a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) graft or a greater saphenous vein, which we first described in 1989 as "Distal Report of the Arterial Inflow" (35 patients; RR: 53% ± 18%), 2) RUDI-2 procedure, "Transposition of the Radial Artery", which we described in 2009 (47 patients; RR: 66% ± 14%).

High Output Cardiac Failure in a Patient Presenting with Acute Myeloid Leukemia and Leukostasis.

In this case report a patient presents with high-output cardiac failure in the clinical setting of acute leukemia and leukostasis. Case particulars are presented, literature is reviewed and a potential mechanistic explanation is proposed to describe presentation and clinical findings.

Outcomes of blood flow suppression methods of treating high flow access in hemodialysis patients with arteriovenous fistula.

PURPOSE: A high flow access (HFA) may cause heart failure in patients with an arteriovenous fistula (AVF) undergoing hemodialysis (HD) and is associated with poor prognosis. There are a variety of blood flow suppression techniques for treating HFA; however, the therapeutic outcome is still unclear. METHODS: The following three different blood flow suppression methods were performed on 74 patients with HFA: proximal artery banding with distal artery ligation (A-ban with A-lig: 12 cases); shunt vein banding (V-ban: 37 cases); and anastoplasty (Ana: 25 cases). RESULTS: There were no differences in the sex or mean age or duration of HD between the treatment groups. The A-ban with A-lig method was mainly selected for patients with a distal AVF and the anastoplasty method was selected most often for patients with a cubital AVF. The techniques were equally effective in reducing flow volume (FV) and the FV/cardiac output ratio (Flow/CO) to target levels, and clinical symptoms improved in all patients. The rates of HFA recurrence and AVF occlusion were significantly higher in the V-ban group (18.9% and 24.3%, respectively). A small proportion of patients in each treatment group developed a postoperative infection. CONCLUSIONS: Each method proved to be an effective means of treating HFA. The choice of surgical method should be informed by the type of vascular access; however, the A-ban with A-lig and Ana methods appear to achieve clinically significant reductions in FV and have lower rates of HFA recurrence and AVF occlusion.

A case series of real-time hemodynamic assessment of high output heart failure as a complication of arteriovenous access in dialysis patients.

Congestive heart failure (CHF) is an important source of morbidity and mortality in end-stage renal disease patients. Although CHF is commonly associated with low cardiac output (CO), it may also occur in high CO states. Multiple conditions are associated with increased CO including congenital or acquired arteriovenous fistulae or arteriovenous grafts. Increased CO resulting from permanent AV access in dialysis patients has been shown to induce structural and functional cardiac changes, including the development of eccentric left ventricle hypertrophy. Often, the diagnosis of high output heart failure requires invasive right heart monitoring in the acute care setting such as a medical or cardiac intensive care unit. The diagnosis of an arteriovenous access causing high output heart failure is usually confirmed after the access is ligated surgically. We present for the first time, a case for real-time hemodynamic assessment of high output heart failure due to AV access by interventional nephrology in the cardiac catheterization suite.

Endovascular repair of contained abdominal aortic aneurysm rupture with aortocaval fistula presenting with high-output heart failure.

Aortocava fistula is a rare condition ranging from 0.22% to 6% of all ruptured aortic aneurysms. Recognition and diagnosis of this entity can often be difficult and requires heightened clinical suspicion to ensure that prompt surgical management leads to a favorable outcome. We herein describe the diagnosis and the technical points of successful endovascular management of aortocaval fistula in the setting of a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Emergency department noninvasive (NICOM) cardiac outputs are associated with trauma activation, patient injury severity and host conditions and mortality.

BACKGROUND: Anoninvasive cardiac output (CO) monitor (NICOM), using Bioreactance technology, has been validated in several nontrauma patient studies. We hypothesized that NICOM CO would have more significant associations with clinical conditions than would systolic blood pressure (sBP). METHODS: This is a prospective observational study of consecutive trauma activation patients during the first 10 to 60 minutes after emergency department arrival. RESULTS: Analysis includes 270 consecutive trauma activation patients with 1,568 observations. CO was decreased (p ≤ 0.002) with major blood loss, hypotension, red blood cell transfusion, Injury Severity Score (ISS) higher than 20, low PetCO2, abnormal pupils, elderly, preexisting conditions, low body surface area level, females, hypothermia, and death. CO was increased (p < 0.0001) with base deficit, ethanol positivity, and illicit drug positivity. The sBP was decreased (p ≤ 0.0005) with major blood loss, red blood cell transfusion, low PetCO2, low body surface area level, and illicit drug positivity. The sBP was increased (p e 0.01) with ISS higher than 20, elderly, and preexisting conditions. Total significant condition associations were CO 83% (15 of 18 patients) and sBP 47% (8 of 17 patients; p = 0.03). In hypotensive patients, CO was lower with major blood loss (3.3 ± 2.1 L/ min) than without (6.0 ± 2.2 L/min; p < 0.0001). Of survivors with ISS 15 or higher, NICOM patients experienced a shorter hospital length of stay (10.5 days) when compared with 2009 and 2010 patients (14.0 days; p = 0.03). CONCLUSION: The multiple associations of CO with patient conditions imply that NICOM provides an objective and clinically valid, relevant, and discriminate measure of cardiac function in acutely injured trauma activation patients. NICOM use may be associated with a shorter length of stay in surviving patients with complex injuries.