Beneficial Effects of Listening to Classical Music in Patients With Heart Failure: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Practical recommendations on nonpharmacologic non-device/surgical interventions in patients with heart failure (HF) are well known. Although complementary treatments may have beneficial effects, there is no evidence that these on their own improve mortality, morbidity, or quality of life. We examined the effects of listening to recorded classical music on HF-specific quality of life (QOL), generic QOL, sleep quality, anxiety, depression, and cognitive state in patients with HF in the home-care setting. METHODS AND RESULTS: Multicenter randomized controlled trial. One hundred fifty-nine patients with HF were randomized on a 1:1 basis in 2 groups: experimental (music) and control. Patients were evaluated after 30, 60, 90 days (experimental period) and at 6 months. Patients randomized to the music group listened to music from a large preselected playlist, at least 30 minutes per day, for 3 months on an MP3 player. Patients in the control group received standard care. HF-specific QOL, generic QOL, self-care, somatic perception of HF symptoms, sleep quality, anxiety and depression, and cognitive abilities were assessed throughout the use of specific scales. On average, patients in the music group showed greater improvements in terms of HF-specific QOL (P < .001), generic-QOL (P = .005), quality of sleep (P = .007), anxiety and depression levels (P < .001 for both), and cognitive performances (P = .003). CONCLUSIONS: Listening to recorded classical music is a feasible, noninvasive, safe, and inexpensive intervention, able to improve QOL in patients with HF in the home-care setting.

Continuous ultrafiltration for congestive heart failure: the CUORE trial.

Background: There are limited data comparing ultrafiltration with standard medical therapy as first-line treatment in patients with severe congestive heart failure (HF). We compared ultrafiltration and conventional therapy in patients hospitalized for HF and overt fluid overload.Methods and Results: Fifty-six patients with congestive HF were randomized to receive standard medical therapy (control group; n = 29) or ultrafiltration (ultrafiltration group; = 27). The primary endpoint of the study was rehospitalizations for congestive HF during a 1-year follow-up. Despite similar body weight reduction at hospital discharge in the 2 groups (7.5 ± 4.5 and 7.9 ± 5.0 kg, respectively;P = .75), a lower incidence of rehospitalizations for HF was observed in the ultrafiltration-treated patients during the following year (hazard ratio 0.14, 95% confidence interval 0.04-0.48; P = .002).Ultrafiltration-induced benefit was associated with a more stable renal function, unchanged furosemide dose, and lower B-type natriuretic peptide levels. At 1 year, 7 deaths (30%) occurred in the ultrafiltration group and 11 (44%) in the control group (P = .33).Conclusions: In HF patients with severe fluid overload, first-line treatment with ultrafiltration is associated with a prolonged clinical stabilization and a greater freedom from rehospitalization for congestive HF.

Uricaemia and ejection fraction in elderly heart failure outpatients.

BACKGROUND: Preliminary data suggest that serum uric acid (SUA) could be involved in the prognosis of chronic heart failure (HF). The aim of our study was to test the relationship between SUA and left ventricular ejection fraction (EF%) in a cohort of elderly hypertensive outpatients with chronic HF. DESIGN: We consecutively enrolled 487 elderly outpatients (M = 59·8%; F = 40·2%; mean age: 72 ± 11 years old) affected by mild-to-moderate hypertensive and/or ischaemic HF, evaluating the relationship between SUA and EF%. RESULTS: In an univariate analysis, SUA was inversely related with EF%: B = -4·392, 95% CI -5·427 to -3·357, P < 0·001. After adjustment for a large number of variables in a multivariate analysis, the value of EF% was best predicted by SUA (B = -3·005, 95% CI -4·386 to -1·623, P < 0·001), log brain natriuretic peptide (BNP: B = -2·341, 95% CI -3·137 to -1·248, P < 0·001) and mean arterial pressure (MAP: B = 0·241, 95% CI 0·047 to 0·435, P = 0·015). A separate analysis by estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) levels confirmed the inverse relationship between SUA and EF% in patients with normal renal function. A separate analysis by sex confirmed that SUA and log BNP were significant strong predictors of EF% in men, but not in women where the best predictors were log BNP, MAP and body mass index. The predicting role of SUA was apparently independent of eGFR and use of diuretics. CONCLUSION: Serum uric acid seems to be inversely related to EF% in male elderly patients with HF after adjustment for the several confounding factors. This observation supports a primary negative effect of SUA on left ventricular function that warrants further investigations.

Continuous ultrafiltration for congestive heart failure: the CUORE trial.

BACKGROUND: There are limited data comparing ultrafiltration with standard medical therapy as first-line treatment in patients with severe congestive heart failure (HF). We compared ultrafiltration and conventional therapy in patients hospitalized for HF and overt fluid overload. METHODS AND RESULTS: Fifty-six patients with congestive HF were randomized to receive standard medical therapy (control group; n = 29) or ultrafiltration (ultrafiltration group; n = 27). The primary end point of the study was rehospitalizations for congestive HF during a 1-year follow-up. Despite similar body weight reduction at hospital discharge in the 2 groups (7.5 ± 5.5 and 7.9 ± 9.0 kg, respectively; P = .75), a lower incidence of rehospitalizations for HF was observed in the ultrafiltration-treated patients during the following year (hazard ratio 0.14, 95% confidence interval 0.04-0.48; P = .002). Ultrafiltration-induced benefit was associated with a more stable renal function, unchanged furosemide dose, and lower B-type natriuretic peptide levels. At 1 year, 7 deaths (30%) occurred in the ultrafiltration group and 11 (44%) in the control group (P = .33). CONCLUSIONS: In HF patients with severe fluid overload, first-line treatment with ultrafiltration is associated with a prolonged clinical stabilization and a greater freedom from rehospitalization for congestive HF.

Tinnitus in elderly patients and prognosis of mild-to-moderate congestive heart failure: a cross-sectional study with a long-term extension of the clinical follow-up.

BACKGROUND: The complex mechanism responsible for tinnitus, a symptom highly prevalent in elderly patients, could involve an impaired control of the microcirculation of the inner ear, particularly in patients with poor blood pressure control and impaired left ventricular (LV) function. METHODS: In order to define the relationship between the presence of tinnitus and the severity and clinical prognosis of mild-to-moderate chronic heart failure (CHF) in a large population of elderly patients (N = 958), a cross-sectional study was conducted with a long-term extension of the clinical follow-up. Blood pressure, echocardiographic parameters, brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), hospitalization, and mortality for CHF were measured. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association between the presence of tinnitus and some of the prognostic determinants of heart failure. RESULTS: The presence of tinnitus was ascertained in 233 patients (24.3%; mean age 74.9 ± 6 years) and was associated with reduced systolic and diastolic blood pressure (123.1 ± 16/67.8 ± 9 vs 125.9 ± 15/69.7 ± 9; P = .027/P = .006), reduced LV ejection fraction (LVEF%; 43.6 ± 15 vs 47.9 ± 14%, P = .001), and increased BNP plasma levels (413.1 ± 480 vs 286.2 ± 357, P = .013) in comparison to patients without symptoms. The distribution of CHF functional class was shifted toward a greater severity of the disease in patients with tinnitus. Combined one-year mortality and hospitalization for CHF (events/year) was 1.43 ± 0.2 in patients with tinnitus and 0.83 ± 0.1 in patients without tinnitus, with an adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of 0.61 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.37 to 0.93, P <.002). CONCLUSIONS: Our preliminary data indirectly support the hypothesis that tinnitus is associated with a worse CHF control in elderly patients and can have some important clinical implications for the early identification of patients who deserve a more aggressive management of CHF.