A nationwide, population-based study on specialized care for acute heart failure throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

AIMS: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the delivery of care for patients with heart failure (HF), leading to fewer HF hospitalizations and increased mortality. However, nationwide data on quality of care and long-term outcomes across the pandemic are scarce. METHODS AND RESULTS: We used data from the National Heart Failure Audit (NHFA) linked to national records for hospitalization and deaths. We compared pre-COVID (2018-2019), COVID (2020), and late/post-COVID (2021-2022) periods. Data for 227 250 patients admitted to hospital with HF were analysed and grouped according to the admission year and the presence of HF with (HFrEF) or without reduced ejection fraction (non-HFrEF). The median age at admission was 81 years (interquartile range 72-88), 55% were men (n = 125 975), 87% were of white ethnicity (n = 102 805), and 51% had HFrEF (n = 116 990). In-hospital management and specialized cardiology care were maintained throughout the pandemic with an increasing percentage of patients discharged on disease-modifying medications over time (p < 0.001). Long-term outcomes improved over time (hazard ratio [HR] 0.92, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.90-0.95, p < 0.001), mainly driven by a reduction in cardiovascular death. Receiving specialized cardiology care was associated with better long-term outcomes both for those who had HFrEF (HR 0.79, 95% CI 0.77-0.82, p < 0.001) and for those who had non-HFrEF (HR 0.87, 95% CI 0.85-0.90, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Despite the disruption of healthcare systems, the clinical characteristics of patients admitted with HF were similar and the overall standard of care was maintained throughout the pandemic. Long-term survival of patients hospitalized with HF continued to improve after COVID-19, especially for HFrEF.

Multiprofessional heart failure self-development framework.

OBJECTIVE: Heart failure remains a key public health priority across the globe. The median age of people with heart failure admitted to hospital in the UK is 81 years old. Many such patients transcend the standard interventions that are well characterised and evidenced in guidelines, into holistic aspects surrounding frailty, rehabilitation and social care. Previous published competency frameworks in heart failure have focused on the value of doctors, nurses and pharmacists. We aimed to provide an expert consensus on the minimum heart failure-specific competencies necessary for multiple different healthcare professionals, including physiotherapists, occupational therapists, dietitians and cardiac physiologists. METHODS: The document has been developed focussing on four main parts, (1) establishing a project working group of expert professionals, (2) a literature review of previously existing published curricula and competency frameworks, (3) consensus building, which included developing a structure to the framework with ongoing review of the contents to adapt and be inclusive for each specialty and (4) write up and dissemination to widen the impact of the project. RESULTS: The final competency framework displays competencies across seven sections; knowledge (including subheadings on heart failure syndrome, diagnosis and clinical management); general skills; heart failure-specific skills; clinical autonomy; multidisciplinary team working; teaching and education; and research and development. CONCLUSION: People with heart failure can be complex and have needs that require input from a broad range of specialties. This publication focuses on the vital impact of wider multidisciplinary groups and should help define the generic core heart failure-specific competencies needed to support future pipelines of professionals, who regularly interact with and deliver care for patients with heart failure.

Diagnostic accuracy, clinical characteristics, and prognostic differences of patients with acute myocarditis according to inclusion criteria.

INTRODUCTION: The diagnosis of acute myocarditis (AM) is complex due to its heterogeneity and typically is defined by either Electronic Healthcare Records (EHRs) or advanced imaging and endomyocardial biopsy, but there is no consensus. We aimed to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of these approaches for AM. METHODS: Data on ICD 10th Revision(ICD-10) codes corresponding to AM were collected from two hospitals and compared to CMR-confirmed or clinically suspected(CS) AM cases with respect to diagnostic accuracy, clinical characteristics, and all-cause mortality. Next, we performed a review of published AM studies according to inclusion criteria. RESULTS: We identified 291 unique admissions with ICD-10 codes corresponding to AM in the first three diagnostic positions. The positive predictive value(PPV) of ICD-10 codes for CMR-confirmed or CS-AM was 36%, and patients with CMR-confirmed or CS AM had a lower all-cause mortality than those with a refuted diagnosis (P = 0.019). Using an unstructured approach, patients with CMR-confirmed and CS AM had similar demographics, comorbidity profiles and survival over a median follow-up of 52 months (P = 0.72). Our review of the literature confirmed our findings. Outcomes for patients included in studies using CMR-confirmed criteria were favourable compared to studies with EMB-confirmed AM cases. CONCLUSION: ICD-10 codes have poor accuracy in identification of AM cases and should be used with caution in clinical research. There are important differences in management and outcomes of patients according to the selection criteria used to diagnose AM. Potential selection biases must be considered when interpreting AM cohorts and requires standardisation of inclusion criteria for AM studies.

Treatment of Iron Deficiency in Heart Failure.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Heart failure (HF) is commonly associated with iron deficiency (ID), defined as insufficient levels of iron to meet physiological demands. ID's association with anaemia is well understood but it is increasingly recognised as an important comorbidity in HF, even in the absence of anaemia. This review summarises contemporary evidence for the measurement and treatment of ID, in both HFrEF and HFpEF, and specific HF aetiologies, and highlights important gaps in the evidence-base. RECENT FINDINGS: ID is common among patients with HF and associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Correcting ID in patients with HF can impact upon functional status, exercise tolerance, symptoms, and overall quality of life, irrespective of anaemia status. ID is a modifiable comorbidity in HF. Therefore, recognising and treating ID has emerging therapeutic potential and is important for all clinicians who care for patients with HF to understand the rationale and approach to treatment.

The prognostic impact of specialist cardiology input in patients admitted for heart failure and normal ejection fraction.

AIMS: Specialist cardiology care is associated with a prognostic benefit in patients with heart failure (HF) with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) admitted with decompensated HF. However, up to one third of patients admitted with HF and normal ejection fraction (HFnEF) do not receive specialist cardiology input. Whether this has prognostic implications is unknown. METHODS AND RESULTS: Data on patients hospitalized with HFnEF from two tertiary centres were analysed. The primary outcome measure was all-cause mortality during follow-up. The secondary outcome was in-hospital mortality. A total of 1413 patients were included in the study. Of these, 23% (n = 322) did not receive in-hospital specialist cardiology input. Patients seen by a cardiologist were less likely to have hypertension (73% vs. 79%, P = 0.03) and respiratory co-morbidities (25% vs. 31%, P = 0.02) compared with those who did not receive specialist input. Similarly, clinical presentation was more severe for those who received specialist input (New York Heart Association III/IV 83% vs. 75% respectively, P = 0.003; moderate-to-severe peripheral oedema 65% vs. 54%, P < 0.001). Medical management was similar, except for a higher use of diuretics (90% vs. 86%, P = 0.04) and a longer length of stay for patients who received specialist input (9 vs. 4 days, P < 0.001). Long-term outcomes were comparable between patients who received specialist input and those who did not. However, specialist input was independently associated with lower in-hospital mortality (hazard ratio 0.19, confidence interval 0.09-0.43, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In-hospital cardiology specialist input has no long-term prognostic advantage in patients with HFnEF but is independently associated with reduced in-hospital mortality.

Prognostic Role of Contraindicated Drugs in Hospitalized Patients with Decompensated Heart Failure.

Due to the ageing population, patients often present to the hospital with a high burden of comorbidities and polypharmacy. For patients admitted with decompensated heart failure (HF), the evidence on the effects of contraindicated drugs on long-term mortality is scarce. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the effect of contraindicated medications on outcomes of patients admitted with decompensated HF. We analyzed all consecutive patients from the National Heart Failure Audit admitted to two tertiary centers with acutely decompensated HF between April 2020 and October 2021. We included medication classes listed as contraindicated (class III) in the most recent European and American guidelines on the management of HF. The primary outcome measure was in-hospital mortality. The secondary outcome measure was overall mortality. Overall, 716 patients admitted with acute HF were included. One-fifth (n = 156, 21.8%) were on at least one contraindicated medication at admission. The prevalence of comorbidities was comparable between medication groups. During hospitalization, the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) was associated with increased in-hospital mortality (29% versus 9%, P = 0.013). On multivariable analyses, NSAID use was independently associated with worse in-hospital mortality (hazard ratio, 6.86; 95% confidence interval, 1.61-25.5; P = 0.005). However, other contraindicated medications were not associated with adverse outcomes. Postdischarge, the use of erythropoietin during admission was associated with increased mortality (54% versus 31%, P = 0.031). NSAID use is associated with increased in-hospital mortality for patients admitted with acute HF. However, inpatient use of other contraindicated medications was not associated with adverse in-hospital outcomes. Further studies are needed to confirm these results in larger and prospective cohorts. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs is associated with a worse in-hospital mortality in patients with decompensated heart failure. The prognostic role of other contraindicated medications remains still uncertain.

Prognostic relevance of demographic factors in cardiac magnetic resonance-proven acute myocarditis: A cohort study.

Aim: Acute myocarditis (AM) is a heterogeneous condition with variable estimates of survival. Contemporary criteria for the diagnosis of clinically suspected AM enable non-invasive assessment, resulting in greater sensitivity and more representative cohorts. We aimed to describe the demographic characteristics and long-term outcomes of patients with AM diagnosed using non-invasive criteria. Methods and results: A total of 199 patients with cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR)-confirmed AM were included. The majority (n = 130, 65%) were male, and the average age was 39 ± 16 years. Half of the patients were White (n = 99, 52%), with the remainder from Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups. The most common clinical presentation was chest pain (n = 156, 78%), with smaller numbers presenting with breathlessness (n = 25, 13%) and arrhythmias (n = 18, 9%). Patients admitted with breathlessness were sicker and more often required inotropes, steroids, and renal replacement therapy (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, and p = 0.01, respectively). Over a median follow-up of 53 (IQR 34-76) months, 11 patients (6%) experienced an adverse outcome, defined as a composite of all-cause mortality, resuscitated cardiac arrest, and appropriate implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) therapy. Patients in the arrhythmia group had a worse prognosis, with a nearly sevenfold risk of adverse events [hazard ratio (HR) 6.97; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.87-26.00, p = 0.004]. Sex and ethnicity were not significantly associated with the outcome. Conclusion: AM is highly heterogeneous with an overall favourable prognosis. Three-quarters of patients with AM present with chest pain, which is associated with a benign prognosis. AM presenting with life-threatening arrhythmias is associated with a higher risk of adverse events.

Exploring the prevalence, impact and experience of cardiac cachexia in patients with advanced heart failure and their caregivers: A sequential phased study.

BACKGROUND: Cardiac Cachexia is a wasting syndrome that has a significant impact on patient mortality and quality of life world-wide, although it is poorly understood in clinical practice. AIM: Identify the prevalence of cardiac cachexia in patients with advanced New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class and explore its impact on patients and caregivers. DESIGN: An exploratory cross-sectional study. The sequential approach had two phases, with phase 1 including 200 patients with NYHA III-IV heart failure assessed for characteristics of cardiac cachexia. Phase 2 focussed on semi-structured interviews with eight cachectic patients and five caregivers to ascertain the impact of the syndrome. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: Two healthcare trusts within the United Kingdom. RESULTS: Cardiac Cachexia was identified in 30 out of 200 participants, giving a prevalence rate of 15%. People with cachexia had a significantly reduced average weight and anthropometric measures (p < 0.05). Furthermore, individuals with cachexia experienced significantly more fatigue, had greater issues with diet and appetite, reduced physical wellbeing and overall reduced quality of life. C-reactive protein was significantly increased, whilst albumin and red blood cell count were significantly decreased in the cachectic group (p < 0.05). From qualitative data, four key themes were identified: (1) 'Changed relationship with food and eating', (2) 'Not me in the mirror', (3) 'Lack of understanding regarding cachexia' and (4) 'Uncertainty regarding the future'. CONCLUSIONS: Cardiac cachexia has a debilitating effect on patients and caregivers. Future work should focus on establishing a specific definition and clinical pathway to enhance patient and caregiver support.

Cardiovascular Damage in COVID-19: What We Know Two Years Later.

PURPOSE OF THE REVIEW: The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has profoundly influenced cardiological clinical and basic research in the past two years. In the present review, we summarize the current knowledge on myocardial involvement in COVID-19, providing an overview on the incidence, the pathogenetic mechanisms, and the clinical implications of cardiac injury in this setting. RECENT FINDINGS: The possibility of heart involvement in patients with COVID-19 has received great attention since the beginning of the pandemic. After more than two years, several steps have been taken in understanding the mechanisms and the incidence of cardiac injury during COVID-19 infection. Similarly, studies globally have clarified the implications of co-existing heart disease and COVID-19. Severe COVID-19 infection may be complicated by myocardial injury. To date, a direct damage from the virus has not been demonstrated. The presence of myocardial injury should be systematically assessed for a prognostication purpose and for possible therapeutic implications.

Patients hospitalised with heart failure across different waves of the COVID-19 pandemic show consistent clinical characteristics and outcomes.

BACKGROUND: During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, admissions for cardiovascular disease, including Heart Failure (HF), were reduced. Patients hospitalised for HF were sicker and with increased in-hospital mortality. So far, whether following waves had a different impact on HF patients is unknown. METHODS: All consecutive patients hospitalised for acute heart failure during three different COVID-19 related national lockdowns were analysed. The lockdown periods were defined according to Government guidelines as 23/3/2020 to 4/7/2020 (First Lockdown), 4/11/2020 to 2/12/2020 (Second Lockdown) and 5/1/2021 to 28/2/2021 (Third Lockdown). RESULTS: Overall, 184 patients hospitalised for HF were included in the study, 95 during the 1st lockdown, 30 during the 2nd lockdown and 59 during the 3rd lockdown. Across the three groups had comparable clinical characteristics, comorbidities and cardiovascular risk factors. Specialist in-hospital care was uninterrupted during the pandemic showing comparable mortality rates (p = 0.10). Although medical therapy for HF was comparable between the three lockdowns, a significantly higher proportion of patients received Angiotensin Receptor-Neprilysin Inhibitors (ARNI) in the second and third lockdowns (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Although public health approaches changed throughout the pandemic, the clinical characteristics and outcomes of HF patients were consistent across different waves. For patients hospitalised in the subsequent waves, a more rapid optimization of medical therapy was observed during hospitalization. Particular attention should be devoted to prevent collateral cardiovascular damage during public health emergencies.

Long-term outcomes after heart failure hospitalization during the COVID-19 pandemic: a multisite report from heart failure referral centers in London.

AIMS: Patients hospitalized for heart failure (HF) had worse in-hospital outcomes during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, their long-term outcomes are unknown. We describe long-term outcomes among patients who survived to hospital discharge compared with patients hospitalized in 2019 from two referral centers in London during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS AND RESULTS: In total, 512 patients who survived their hospitalization for acute HF in two South London referral centers between 7 January and 14 June 2020 were included in the study and compared with 725 patients from the corresponding period in 2019. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality. The demographic characteristics of patients admitted in 2020 were similar to the 2019 cohort. Median (IQR) follow-up was 622 (348-691) days. All-cause mortality after discharge remained significantly higher for patients admitted in 2020 compared with the equivalent period in 2019 (P < 0.01), which may relate to observed differences in place of care with fewer patients being managed on specialist cardiology wards during the COVID-19 pandemic. CONCLUSION: Hospitalization for HF during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with higher all-cause mortality among patients who survived to discharge. Further studies are necessary to identify predictors of these adverse outcomes to improve outpatient management during a critical period in the management of acute HF.

Self-care of heart failure patients: practical management recommendations from the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology.

Self-care is essential in the long-term management of chronic heart failure. Heart failure guidelines stress the importance of patient education on treatment adherence, lifestyle changes, symptom monitoring and adequate response to possible deterioration. Self-care is related to medical and person-centred outcomes in patients with heart failure such as better quality of life as well as lower mortality and readmission rates. Although guidelines give general direction for self-care advice, health care professionals working with patients with heart failure need more specific recommendations. The aim of the management recommendations in this paper is to provide practical advice for health professionals delivering care to patients with heart failure. Recommendations for nutrition, physical activity, medication adherence, psychological status, sleep, leisure and travel, smoking, immunization and preventing infections, symptom monitoring, and symptom management are consistent with information from guidelines, expert consensus documents, recent evidence and expert opinion.

ST2 in patients with severe aortic stenosis and heart failure.

BACKGROUND: ST2 is a circulating biomarker that is well established for predicting outcome in heart failure (HF). This is the first study to look at ST2 concentrations in optimally treated patients with stable but significant left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) compared to patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS). METHODS: Two cohorts were retrospectively studied: 94 patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation for severe AS (63 with normal ejection fraction [EF] and 31 with reduced EF), and 50 patients with severe LVSD from non-valvular causes. ST2 pre-procedural samples were taken, and repeated again at 3 and 6 months. Patients were followed-up for 2 years. Data was analyzed using SPSS software. RESULTS: Baseline concentrations of soluble ST2 did not differ significantly between the HF group and AS group with normal EF (EF ≥ 50%). However, in the AS group with a low EF (EF < 50%) ST2 concentrations were significantly higher that the HF group (p = 0.009). New York Heart Association class IV HF, baseline N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide and gender were all independent predictors of soluble ST2 (sST2) baseline concentrations. CONCLUSIONS: Raised ST2 concentrations in the context of severe AS may be a marker for subclinical or clinical left ventricular dysfunction. More research is required to assess its use for assessment of prognosis and response to treatment.

Clozapine-induced myocarditis: electronic health register analysis of incidence, timing, clinical markers and diagnostic accuracy.

BACKGROUND: Clozapine is associated with increased risk of myocarditis. However, many common side-effects of clozapine overlap with the clinical manifestations of myocarditis. As a result, there is uncertainty about which signs, symptoms and investigations are important in distinguishing myocarditis from benign adverse effects of clozapine. Clarity on this issue is important, since missing a diagnosis of myocarditis or discontinuing clozapine unnecessarily may both have devastating consequences. AIMS: To examine the clinical characteristics of clozapine-induced myocarditis and to identify which signs and symptoms distinguish true myocarditis from other clozapine adverse effects. METHOD: A retrospective analysis of the record database for 247 621 patients was performed. A natural language processing algorithm identified the instances of patients in which myocarditis was suspected. The anonymised case notes for the patients of each suspected instance were then manually examined, and those whose instances were ambiguous were referred for an independent assessment by up to three cardiologists. Patients with suspected instances were classified as having confirmed myocarditis, myocarditis ruled out or undetermined. RESULTS: Of 254 instances in 228 patients with suspected myocarditis, 11.4% (n = 29 instances) were confirmed as probable myocarditis. Troponin and C-reactive protein (CRP) had excellent diagnostic value (area under the curve 0.975 and 0.896, respectively), whereas tachycardia was of little diagnostic value. All confirmed instances occurred within 42 days of clozapine initiation. CONCLUSIONS: Suspicion of myocarditis can lead to unnecessary discontinuation of clozapine. The 'critical period' for myocarditis emergence is the first 6 weeks, and clinical signs including tachycardia are of low specificity. Elevated CRP and troponin are the best markers for the need for further evaluation.

Temporal trends in decompensated heart failure and outcomes during COVID-19: a multisite report from heart failure referral centres in London.

AIMS: Admission rates for acute decompensated heart failure (HF) declined during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the impact of this reduction on hospital mortality is unknown. We describe temporal trends in the presentation of patients with acute HF and their in-hospital outcomes at two referral centres in London during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 1372 patients hospitalized for HF in two referral centres in South London between 7 January and 14 June 2020 were included in the study and their outcomes compared with those of equivalent patients of the same time period in 2019. The primary outcome was all-cause in-hospital mortality. The number of HF hospitalizations was significantly reduced during the COVID-19 pandemic, compared with 2019 (P < 0.001). Specifically, we observed a temporary reduction in hospitalizations during the COVID-19 peak, followed by a return to 2019 levels. Patients admitted during the COVID-19 pandemic had demographic characteristics similar to those admitted during the equivalent period in 2019. However, in-hospital mortality was significantly higher in 2020 than in 2019 (P = 0.015). Hospitalization in 2020 was independently associated with worse in-hospital mortality (hazard ratio 2.23, 95% confidence interval 1.34-3.72; P = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: During the COVID-19 pandemic there was a reduction in HF hospitalization and a higher rate of in-hospital mortality. Hospitalization for HF in 2020 is independently associated with more adverse outcomes. Further studies are required to investigate the predictors of these adverse outcomes to help inform potential changes to the management of HF patients while some constraints to usual care remain.

The impact of COVID-19 on heart failure hospitalization and management: report from a Heart Failure Unit in London during the peak of the pandemic.

AIMS: To examine the impact of COVID-19 on acute heart failure (AHF) hospitalization rates, clinical characteristics and management of patients admitted to a tertiary Heart Failure Unit in London during the peak of the pandemic. METHODS AND RESULTS: Data from King's College Hospital, London, reported to the National Heart Failure Audit for England and Wales, between 2 March-19 April 2020 were compared both to a pre-COVID cohort and the corresponding time periods in 2017 to 2019 with respect to absolute hospitalization rates. Furthermore, we performed detailed comparison of patients hospitalized during the COVID-19 pandemic and patients presenting in the same period in 2019 with respect to clinical characteristics and management during the index admission. A significantly lower admission rate for AHF was observed during the study period compared to all other included time periods. Patients admitted during the COVID-19 pandemic had higher rates of New York Heart Association III or IV symptoms (96% vs. 77%, P = 0.03) and severe peripheral oedema (39% vs. 14%, P = 0.01). We did not observe any differences in inpatient management, including place of care and pharmacological management of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. CONCLUSION: Incident AHF hospitalization significantly declined in our centre during the COVID-19 pandemic, but hospitalized patients had more severe symptoms at admission. Further studies are needed to investigate whether the incidence of AHF declined or patients did not present to hospital while the national lockdown and social distancing restrictions were in place. From a public health perspective, it is imperative to ascertain whether this will be associated with worse long-term outcomes.