Exercise training improves exercise capacity and quality of life in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Aims: Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is associated with high morbidity and mortality, and there are limited proven therapeutic strategies. Exercise has been shown to be beneficial in several studies. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of exercise on functional, physiological, and quality-of-life measures. Methods and results: A comprehensive search of Medline and Embase was performed. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of adult HFpEF patients with data on exercise intervention were included. Using meta-analysis, we produced pooled mean difference (MD) estimates with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) with Review Manager (RevMan) software for the peak oxygen uptake (VO2), Minnesota living with heart failure (MLWHF) and, other diastolic dysfunction scores. A total of 14 studies on 629 HFpEF patients were included (63.2% female) with a mean age of 68.1 years. Exercise was associated with a significant improvement in the peak VO2 (MD 1.96 mL/kg/min, 95% CI 1.25-2.68; P < 0.00001) and MLWHF score (MD -12.06, 95% CI -17.11 to -7.01; P < 0.00001) in HFpEF. Subgroup analysis showed a small but significant improvement in peak VO2 with high-intensity interval training (HIIT) vs. medium-intensity continuous exercise (MCT; MD 1.25 mL/kg/min, 95% CI 0.41-2.08, P = 0.003). Conclusion: Exercise increases the exercise capacity and quality of life in HFpEF patients, and high-intensity exercise is associated with a small but statistically significant improvement in exercise capacity than moderate intensity. Further studies with larger participant populations and longer follow-up are needed to confirm these findings and elucidate potential differences between high- and medium-intensity exercise.

Medical management of painful achalasia: a patient-driven systematic review.

Achalasia is a rare esophageal disorder characterized by abnormal esophageal motility and swallowing difficulties. Pain and/or spasms often persist or recur despite effective relief of the obstruction. A survey by UK charity 'Achalasia Action' highlighted treatments for achalasia pain/spasms as a key research priority. In this patient-requested systematic review, we assessed the existing literature on pharmacological therapies for painful achalasia. A systematic review of the literature using Medline, Embase and Cochrane databases was performed to identify studies evaluating pharmacological therapies for achalasia. Methodological quality of included randomized controlled trials was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. In total, 70% (40/57) of survey respondents reported experiencing pain/spasms. A range of management strategies were reported. Thirteen studies were included in the review. Seven were randomized controlled trials. Most studies were >30 years old, had limited follow-up, and focussed on esophageal manometry as the key endpoint. Generally, studies found improvements in lower esophageal pressures with medications. Only one study evaluated pain/spasm specifically, precluding meta-analysis. Overall risk of bias was high. The achalasia patient survey identified that pain/spasms are common and difficult to treat. This patient-requested review identified a gap in the literature regarding pharmacological treatments for these symptoms. We provide an algorithm for investigating achalasia-related pain/spasms. Calcium channel blockers or nitrates may be helpful when esophageal obstruction and reflux have been excluded. We advocate for registry-based clinical trials to expand the evidence base for these patients.

Analysis of a streamlined pathway for aortic surveillance for Turner syndrome in a single centre.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The risk of aortic dissection (AoD) is increased in women with Turner syndrome (TS) but predicting those with this heightened risk is difficult. In response to this, we sought to create a pathway to monitor TS patients to improve efficiency and resource utilisation in our dedicated TS clinic, and to monitor more closely those women thought to be at increased risk of AoD. DESIGN AND PATIENTS: Our pathway was designed based on evidence derived from International Guidelines for the management of aortic disease in women with TS. Women were divided according to those with known risk factors for AoD, and those with no known risk factors. These groups were further subdivided into 4 pathways depending on ascending aortic size which in-turn determined the frequency of outpatient appointments and imaging. RESULTS: Out of the 168 patients included in the analysis, 7 have had ascending aorta replacements, all in the highest risk group. Of the remaining 4 patients in the highest risk groups: 1 dissected whilst awaiting planned aortic surgery, 1 is currently awaiting surgery, 1 has low body mass index, therefore, making her aorta proportionally larger but not necessitating surgery and one has declined surgery. No women changed pathways. CONCLUSION: The risk-stratified pathway safely allowed consolidation of resources to women perceived to be at highest risk of AoD (excluding pregnancy), supporting the efficacy of the pathway and allowing the diversion of resources to those most at risk of AoD.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of transthoracic echocardiogram vs. cardiac magnetic resonance imaging for the detection of left ventricular thrombus.

Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) is the most commonly used imaging modality to diagnose left ventricular thrombus (LVT), however, cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) remains the gold standard investigation. A comparison of the diagnostic performance between two modalities is needed to inform guidelines on a diagnostic approach towards LVT. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the diagnostic performance of three methods of TTE (non-contrast, contrast, and apical wall motion scoring) for the detection of LVT compared to CMR as a reference test. Studies comprising 2113 patients investigated for LVT using both TTE and CMR were included in the meta-analysis. For non-contrast TTE, pooled sensitivity and specificity were 47% [95% confidence interval (CI): 32-62%], and 98% (95% CI: 96-99%), respectively. In contrast, TTE pooled sensitivity and specificity values were 58% (95% CI: 46-69%), and 98% (95% CI: 96-99%), respectively. Apical wall motion scoring on non-contrast TTE yielded a sensitivity of 100% [95% CI: 93-100%] and a specificity of 54% (95% CI: 42-65%). The area under the curve (AUC) values from our summary receiver operating characteristic curve (SROC) for non-contrast and contrast TTE were 0.87 and 0.86 respectively, with apical wall motion studies having the highest AUC of 0.93. Despite high specificity, routine contrast and non-contrast TTE are likely to miss a significant number of LVT, making it a suboptimal screening tool. The addition of apical wall motion scoring provides a promising method to reliably identify patients requiring further investigations for LVT, whilst excluding others from unnecessary testing.

The formation of left ventricular thrombus (LVT), a blood clot in the left pumping chamber of the heart, can lead to serious complications such as a stroke. Whilst cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) is the best imaging tool to detect these clots, the most used tool is a transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE), which visualizes the heart by placing an ultrasound on the chest. This is due to the affordability and widespread availability of TTE. Thus, it is important to know how TTE compares to CMR when it comes to detecting LVT. This study pools the results of previous research to compare the diagnostic performance of three different methods of TTE compared to CMR for detecting LVT. Non-contrast TTE.Contrast TTE: The addition of an enhancing dye is thought to improve imaging.Apical wall motion scoring: Evaluating the movement of the heart's walls using TTE. Our results show that current methods of TTE may miss half of the patients with LVT and that the use of contrast did not provide significant improvement. Interestingly, the use of apical wall motion scoring was able to accurately detect all the patients with LVT. This shows promise as a future tool to reliably exclude patients from unnecessary testing, whilst identifying those who need further investigations.