The natural history of new-onset heart failure with a severely depressed left ventricular ejection fraction: implications for timing of implantable cardioverter-defibrillator implantation.

BACKGROUND: Guidelines recommend that patients with new-onset systolic heart failure (HF) receive a trial of medical therapy before an implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD). This strategy allows for improvement of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), thereby avoiding an ICD, but exposes patients to risk of potentially preventable sudden cardiac death during the trial of medical therapy. METHODS: We reviewed a consecutive series of patients with HF of <6 months duration with a severely depressed LVEF (<30%) evaluated in a HF clinic (N = 224). The ICD implantation was delayed with plans to reassess LVEF approximately 6 months after optimization of ß-blockers. Mortality was ascertained by the National Death Index. RESULTS: Follow-up echocardiograms were performed in 115 of the 224 subjects. Of these, 50 (43%) had mildly depressed or normal LVEF at follow-up ("LVEF recovery") such that an ICD was no longer indicated. In a conservative sensitivity analysis (using the entire study cohort, whether or not a follow-up echocardiogram was obtained, as the denominator), 22% of subjects had LVEF recovery. Mortality at 6, 12, and 18 months in the entire cohort was 2.3%, 4.5%, and 6.8%, respectively. Of 87 patients who tolerated target doses of ß-blockers, only 1 (1.1%) died during the first 18 months. CONCLUSION: Patients with new-onset systolic HF have both a good chance of LVEF recovery and low 6-month mortality. Achievement of target ß-blocker dose identifies a very low-risk population. These data support delaying ICD implantation for a trial of medical therapy.

Relation of lack of knowledge about dietary sodium to hospital readmission in patients with heart failure.

It has previously been demonstrated that patients with heart failure (HF) in an urban public hospital had significant gaps in knowledge regarding dietary sodium restriction. The objective of this study was to determine what risk factors were associated with such gaps in knowledge and to determine if these gaps in knowledge would increase the risk for HF readmission. A standardized test of sodium knowledge (scored 0 to 10) was administered prospectively to 97 hospitalized patients with HF <48 hours before discharge. The incidence of 90-day hospital readmission for HF was compared between subjects with low dietary sodium knowledge (score 0 to 3) and the remainder of the cohort (score 4 to 10) in univariate and multivariate analyses. Another 48 patients with HF were prospectively recruited, and the dietary sodium knowledge test and a survey of psychosocial and other parameters, including the Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults, a validated measure of health literacy, were administered. The 90-day readmission rate for HF was 3 times higher in those with low sodium knowledge than in the remainder of the cohort (28% vs 9%, p = 0.02). This association persisted in multivariate models adjusting for potential confounders. Low health literacy, but not other psychosocial parameters, was associated with low dietary sodium knowledge. In conclusion, low dietary sodium knowledge was an independent risk factor for 90-day HF hospital readmission in the urban setting. Deficiency in dietary sodium knowledge is one pathway through which low health literacy leads to adverse outcomes in patients with HF.

Low voltage on the electrocardiogram is a marker of disease severity and a risk factor for adverse outcomes in patients with heart failure due to systolic dysfunction.

BACKGROUND: The prognostic implications of low QRS voltage on the electrocardiogram (ECG) in heart failure (HF) are not well characterized. METHODS: We manually measured and summed the QRS voltage in all 12 leads of the ECG (sumQRS) in two cohorts: (1) 415 patients with a low left ventricular ejection fraction followed up in a HF clinic ("clinic cohort") and (2) 100 subjects with advanced HF who had an ECG within 1 year preceding cardiac transplantation ("pretransplant cohort"). Low voltage was defined as the lowest quartile of the clinic cohort (sumQRS <12 mV) and its prevalence was compared in the two cohorts. The associations of low voltage with 1-year outcomes were assessed in the clinic cohort. RESULTS: In the clinic cohort, the frequency of low voltage was higher in New York Heart Association class 4 versus class 1-3 patients (34% vs 22% respectively, P = .04). The frequency of low voltage in the pretransplant cohort (47%) was twice that of the clinic cohort (24%, P < .001). After 1 year of follow-up in the clinic cohort, low ECG voltage was associated with a higher rate of death (14% vs 5%, P = .008) and the composite end point of death or HF hospitalization (35% vs 20%, P = .004). These associations persisted in multivariable analyses adjusting for important confounders. CONCLUSIONS: Low ECG voltage is a marker of the severity of HF and is a risk factor for adverse outcomes in patients with systolic HF at 1 year.

High-sodium food choices by southern, urban African Americans with heart failure.

BACKGROUND: Sodium restriction is important in the management of heart failure (HF). Although many low-sodium educational resources are available, few are directed specifically at urban African Americans. METHODS AND RESULTS: A registered dietitian prospectively interviewed 50 African-American and 25 white patients in an urban public hospital (derivation cohort) in Dallas, TX, using a food-frequency instrument that listed 146 food choices. Foods >300 mg sodium/serving consumed at least weekly by 50% of an ethnic group were classified as being a high-sodium core food for that group. Classification of foods (core or not core) was validated in a second African-American cohort (n = 144). Five high-sodium food choices were classified as core food in both the derivation and validation African-American cohorts (salt in cooking, canned vegetables, cheese, processed meats, and cold cereal) and another 3 when the derivation and validation cohorts were combined (fast food, fried chicken, and corn bread). Four of these 8 foods were not classified as core foods in whites. CONCLUSION: Eight high-sodium foods were frequently consumed by southern, urban African Americans with heart failure. Several of these foods were not commonly consumed by whites, emphasizing the need to be sensitive to ethnic differences in dietary habits when educating patients about sodium intake.

Therapy of heart failure in African Americans: lessons from an urban public hospital.

African-American patients with heart failure treated at urban public hospitals are at high risk for adverse outcomes likely due to complex socioeconomic factors. While establishing a heart failure disease management program at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, TX, the authors completed two studies that address the high rates of heart failure hospitalizations seen in this population. The first study found high rates of adverse outcomes following emergency department discharge for heart failure. The second identified important deficiencies in dietary sodium knowledge. Both 90-day outcomes (return emergency department visit or heart failure hospitalization) following an index emergency department discharge and dietary sodium knowledge represent new potential measures of quality of care of heart failure. Studies of this high-risk population of heart failure patients may offer insights that lead to improved outcomes both in the urban setting and elsewhere.

Beta-blocker therapy in patients with heart failure in the urban setting: moving beyond clinical trials.

BACKGROUND: Despite their known benefits, beta-blockers (BBL) are not yet widely prescribed for heart failure, especially in the primary care setting. We wanted to identify patient characteristics that could guide primary care physicians in deciding whether they or a cardiologist should initiate BBL. A second objective was to determine the tolerability of BBL in clinical practice. METHODS: A retrospective chart review was conducted on a consecutive series of 551 patients with systolic dysfunction referred to a heart failure clinic in an urban public hospital. Patient responses to BBL were stratified into three categories: favorable (improvement of left ventricular ejection fraction by serial echocardiography), unfavorable (development of decompensated heart failure), or neither. Tolerability of BBL was assessed by the need to permanently discontinue BBL. RESULTS: Of 551 patients, 363 (66%) tolerated BBL. Among patients who had BBL initiated in the clinic, 48 had a favorable response, 34 had an unfavorable response, and 57 had neither a favorable or unfavorable response, as defined. A lower systolic blood pressure and higher diuretic dose were associated with development of decompensated heart failure as compared to improvement of ejection fraction. CONCLUSIONS: A majority of patients with heart failure in an urban public hospital can tolerate BBL. Easily measurable characteristics such as lower systolic blood pressure and higher diuretic dose may assist primary care physicians in triaging patients for referral to cardiologists for beta-blocker initiation.

Potential contributing factors to noncompliance with dietary sodium restriction in patients with heart failure.

BACKGROUND: Although sodium restriction is considered essential in the management of patients with chronic heart failure (CHF), there are no data available regarding patients awareness of and ability to comply with the sodium restriction guideline. METHODS: Between May 1999 and August 2000, 50 patients referred to the Parkland Memorial Hospital CHF clinic were assessed by a registered dietitian for (1) awareness of the sodium restriction guideline, (2) ability to read the sodium content from a Nutrition Facts label, and (3) ability to sort 12 food containers, all bearing a Nutrition Facts label, into high- and low-sodium groups. A global measure of dietary sodium knowledge was calculated ("sodium knowledge score," range 0-10). These tests were repeated after the patient completed one or more educational sessions (mean 2.8 +/- 1.5) with the dietitian. RESULTS: The proportion of patients aware of the sodium restriction guideline was 14% at baseline and 42% at follow-up (P <.01). The proportion of patients able to read the sodium content from the Nutrition Facts label was 58% at baseline and 92% at follow-up (P <.01). The sodium knowledge score was 3.8 +/- 3.4 at baseline and 5.8 +/- 3.2 at follow-up (P <.01). The proportion of subjects who achieved a perfect sodium knowledge score of 10 was 8% at baseline and 26% at follow-up (P <.05). The number of food containers sorted accurately was 10.6 +/- 1.5 at baseline and 11.3 +/- 1.1 at follow-up, P =.09. CONCLUSIONS: On referral to a specialty CHF clinic, many patients had severe deficiencies in their knowledge base regarding dietary sodium intake that would preclude compliance with the sodium restriction guideline. Directed education focusing on sodium intake corrected many of these deficiencies.