Chapter 1: The Burden of Heart Failure.

Heart failure (HF) affects an estimated 6 million American adults, and the prevalence continues to increase, driven in part by the aging of the population and by increases in the prevalence of diabetes. In recent decades, improvements in the survival of patients with HF have resulted in a growing number of individuals living longer with HF. HF and its comorbidities are associated with substantial impairments in physical functioning, emotional well-being, and quality of life, and also with markedly increased rates of morbidity and mortality. As a result, the management of patients with HF has a substantial economic impact on the health care system, with most costs arising from hospitalization. Clinicians have an important role in helping to reduce the burden of HF through timely diagnosis of HF as well as increasing access to effective treatments to minimize symptoms, delay progression, and reduce hospital admissions. Prevention and early diagnosis of HF will play a fundamental role in efforts to reduce the large and growing burden of HF. Recent advances in pharmacotherapies for HF have the potential to radically change the management of HF, offering the possibility of improved survival and quality of life for patients.

Prognostic factors in treatment of traumatic femoropopliteal arterial injuries at a Brazilian trauma center.

Background: Despite significant improvements in outcomes, traumatic arterial limb injuries remain a significant cause of limb loss and mortality. Objectives: This study sought to identify predictors of mortality and major amputation in patients undergoing revascularization after femoropopliteal arterial trauma. Methods: This was a retrospective review of a trauma registry from an urban trauma center in Brazil. All patients admitted to our hospital with a femoropopliteal arterial injury from November 2012 to December 2017 who underwent vascular reconstruction were included. Univariate analyses and logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify factors independently associated with the primary outcome of amputation and the secondary outcome of mortality. Results: Ninety-six patients were included. Eleven patients (11.5%) had an amputation and 14 (14.6%) died. In the logistic regression model for amputation, patients with ischemia duration greater than 6 hours were approximately 10 times more likely to undergo an amputation compared to those with ischemia duration less than or equal to 6 hours (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) [95% confidence interval (CI)]: 9.6 [1.2-79.9]). The logistic regression model for mortality revealed that patients with ischemia duration greater than 6 hours were approximately 6 times more likely to die compared to those with ischemia duration less than or equal to 6 hours (AOR [95% CI]: 5.6 [1.3 to 24.7). Conclusions: Ischemia duration remains the most important factor independently associated with limb loss and mortality for patients undergoing femoropopliteal arterial revascularization after traumatic injuries. Physiological status on admission and trauma scores are also important.

Contexto: As lesões arteriais traumáticas de membros ainda permanecem uma causa significativa de perda de membros e mortalidade, apesar de melhorias significativas observadas nos resultados após a ocorrências dessas lesões. Objetivos: Este estudo buscou identificar preditores de mortalidade e amputações em pacientes submetidos à revascularização após trauma arterial femoropoplíteo. Métodos: Esta é uma revisão de um Registro de Trauma Vascular. Todos os pacientes com lesão arterial femoropoplítea internados em nosso hospital de novembro de 2012 a dezembro de 2017 e submetidos a reconstrução vascular foram incluídos. Análises univariadas, seguidas de análises de regressão logística, foram realizadas para identificar fatores independentemente associados com os resultados primários de amputação e mortalidade. Resultados: Foram incluídos 96 pacientes, com média de 27 anos. O Revised Trauma Score (RTS) foi, em média, 7,152; já o Injury Severity Score (ISS) foi, em média, 15. Onze pacientes (11,5%) tiveram amputação, e 14 pacientes (14,6%) morreram. Observou-se que pacientes com o tempo de isquemia maior que 6 horas apresentaram aproximadamente 10 vezes mais chance de amputação do que aqueles com tempo igual ou menor que 6 horas (intervalo de confiança de 95% [IC95%]: 1,2 a 79,9). O tempo de isquemia maior que 6 horas aumentou em aproximadamente 6 vezes a chance de mortalidade (IC95%: 1,26 a 24,77). A instabilidade hemodinâmica aumentou em 9 vezes a chance de mortalidade (IC95%: 2,36 a 36,67). Conclusões: O tempo de isquemia continua sendo o fator mais importante independentemente associado a amputação e óbito em pacientes submetidos à revascularização arterial femoropoplítea após traumas. O estado fisiológico e os escores de trauma são importantes.

Net atrioventricular compliance is an independent predictor of cardiovascular death in mitral stenosis.

OBJECTIVES: Rheumatic mitral stenosis (MS) is a progressive disease, and risk of death may persist despite relief of the obstruction. Net atrioventricular compliance (Cn) modulates the overall haemodynamic burden of the MS and may be useful in predicting cardiovascular death after percutaneous mitral valvuloplasty (PMV). METHODS: A total of 427 patients (mean age 50±16 years, 84% female) with severe MS undergoing PMV were enrolled. Doppler-derived Cn was estimated at baseline using a previously validated equation. The primary endpoint was late cardiovascular death, and the secondary endpoint was a composite of all-cause mortality, mitral valve (MV) replacement or repeat PMV over a median follow-up of 31 months (IQR: 7.8-49.2 months). RESULTS: At baseline, 209 patients (49%) were in New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class III or IV. During follow-up, 49 patients died (41 cardiovascular deaths), 50 underwent MV replacement and 12 required repeat PMV, with an overall incidence of cardiac mortality and adverse events of 4.1 deaths and 11.1 events per 100 patient-years, respectively. Low baseline Cn was a strong predictor of both cardiac death (adjusted HR 0.70, 95% CI 0.49 to 0.86) and composite endpoint (adjusted HR 0.81, 95% CI 0.67 to 0.91) after adjusting for clinical factors, baseline pulmonary artery pressure, tricuspid regurgitation severity, right ventricular function and immediate procedural haemodynamic data. The inclusion of Cn in a model with conventional parameters resulted in improvement in 5-year cardiovascular mortality risk prediction. CONCLUSIONS: Baseline Cn is a strong predictor of cardiovascular death in patients with MS undergoing PMV, independent of other prognostic markers of decreased survival in MS, including baseline patient characteristics and postprocedural data. Cn assessment therefore has potential value in evaluation of cardiovascular mortality risk in the setting of MS.

The echo score revisited: Impact of incorporating commissural morphology and leaflet displacement to the prediction of outcome for patients undergoing percutaneous mitral valvuloplasty.

BACKGROUND: Current echocardiographic scoring systems for percutaneous mitral valvuloplasty (PMV) have limitations. This study examined new, more quantitative methods for assessing valvular involvement and the combination of parameters that best predicts immediate and long-term outcome after PMV. METHODS AND RESULTS: Two cohorts (derivation n=204 and validation n=121) of patients with symptomatic mitral stenosis undergoing PMV were studied. Mitral valve morphology was assessed by using both the conventional Wilkins qualitative parameters and novel quantitative parameters, including the ratio between the commissural areas and the maximal excursion of the leaflets from the annulus in diastole. Independent predictors of outcome were assigned a points value proportional to their regression coefficients: mitral valve area ≤1 cm(2) (2), maximum leaflets displacement ≤12 mm (3), commissural area ratio ≥1.25 (3), and subvalvular involvement (3). Three risk groups were defined: low (score of 0-3), intermediate (score of 5), and high (score of 6-11) with observed suboptimal PMV results of 16.9%, 56.3%, and 73.8%, respectively. The use of the same scoring system in the validation cohort yielded suboptimal PMV results of 11.8%, 72.7%, and 87.5% in the low-, intermediate-, and high-risk groups, respectively. The model improved risk classification in comparison with the Wilkins score (net reclassification improvement 45.2%; P<0.0001). Long-term outcome was predicted by age and postprocedural variables, including mitral regurgitation, mean gradient, and pulmonary pressure. CONCLUSIONS: A scoring system incorporating new quantitative echocardiographic parameters more accurately predicts outcome following PMV than existing models. Long-term post-PMV event-free survival was predicted by age, degree of mitral regurgitation, and postprocedural hemodynamic data.