Correlation of laboratory haemoconcentration measures with filling pressures obtained via pulmonary arterial pressure sensors in ambulatory heart failure patients.

AIMS: Laboratory measures of haemoconcentration correlate with invasive haemodynamics and clinical outcomes in hospitalized heart failure (HF) patients. We aimed to determine the association between haemoconcentration and haemodynamic measures in ambulatory HF patients with implantable pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP) sensors. METHODS AND RESULTS: We reviewed ambulatory HF patients (n = 23) managed at the Brigham and Women's Hospital with implantable PAP sensors (CardioMEMS™, Abbott, Atlanta, GA, USA) who had sufficient data for serial haemodynamic-haemoconcentration correlation. The primary measures of interest were the absolute changes in haemoglobin and diastolic PAP at follow-up compared to baseline values (obtained at implantation). In 23 patients (median age 64 years, 57% with HF with preserved ejection fraction), 518 paired laboratory-haemodynamic measurements were evaluated. At a median follow-up of 27 (interquartile range 13-42) months, 17 (74%) patients had at least one hospitalization (59 total hospitalizations including 30 HF hospitalizations). For the population as a whole, diastolic PAP was negatively correlated with haemoglobin level (r = -0.09, P = 0.053). This negative correlation was more apparent when changes in haemoglobin and diastolic PAP were evaluated at the time of HF hospitalization compared to baseline values (r = -0.40, P = 0.029). The mean rise in diastolic PAP of 3.6 mmHg at HF hospitalization corresponded to a numerical decline of 0.6 g/dL in haemoglobin (P = 0.20). CONCLUSION: Change in haemoglobin was correlated with change in diastolic PAP in ambulatory HF patients, especially at the time of HF hospitalization. These findings support the potential for investigation into the role of ambulatory monitoring of haemoglobin as an inexpensive, non-invasive tool to guide de-congestion strategies and potentially prevent HF hospitalizations.