Clinical significance of arterial stiffness as a factor for hospitalization of heart failure with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction: a retrospective matched case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have been conducted to identify characteristics of patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), but the risk factors of HFpEF remain unclear. We investigated the associations between arterial stiffness and the risk of hospitalization for HFpEF patients. METHODS: For the case group, we enrolled patients with preserved EF who had been hospitalized for HF from April 2013 to March 2015 and examined the cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI). For the control group, we enrolled outpatients with preserved EF and with hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, and/or coronary artery disease but who did not present with HF symptoms and had never been diagnosed or treated for HF during the same period. The control group matched with the case group for age and sex. The association between hospitalized HFpEF and clinical variables was analyzed using conditional logistic regression models. RESULTS: The CAVI value was significantly higher in patients with hospitalized HFpEF compared with patients with the control [10.4 (9.8-11.0) vs. 9.2 (8.1-10.0), p < 0.001). On the multivariate conditional logistic regression analysis, high CAVI (OR 6.76, 95% CI 2.28-20.10, p < 0.001) and anemia (OR 3.91, 95% CI 1.47-10.40, p = 0.006) were independently associated with hospitalization of HFpEF patients. CONCLUSIONS: The present study has demonstrated that the high value of CAVI was independently associated with the hospitalization of HFpEF patients.

Differences in pharmacological property between combined therapy of the vasopressin V2-receptor antagonist tolvaptan plus furosemide and monotherapy of furosemide in patients with hospitalized heart failure.

BACKGROUND: Tolvaptan has been shown to improve congestion in heart failure patients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the pharmacology and clinical efficacy of combined tolvaptan and furosemide therapy. METHODS: This study included 40 patients with systemic volume overload who were hospitalized for heart failure. Patients who showed no improvement in the condition after receiving 20 mg intravenous furosemide were included and were randomly selected to receive tolvaptan as an add-on to furosemide or to receive an increased dose of furosemide. We evaluated the bioelectrical impedance analyzer parameters, the parameters of the inferior vena cava using echocardiography, vital signs, body weight, urine output, and laboratory data for 5 days. RESULTS: In the changes from baseline between intracellular water volume (ICW) and extracellular water volume (ECW) after additional use of tolvaptan or furosemide from Day 1 to Day 5, there were no significant differences observed between ICW and ECW over 5 days in the tolvaptan + furosemide group, although differences were found in the furosemide group from Day 2 onward. Changes in the respiratory collapse of inferior vena cava increased significantly, and systolic blood pressure decreased significantly only in the furosemide group. CONCLUSIONS: The present study clearly demonstrates that combined therapy with tolvaptan and furosemide removed excess ICW and ECW to an equal extent, while furosemide alone primarily removed ECW, including intravascular water.