Ultrafiltration versus intravenous loop diuretics in patients with acute decompensated heart failure: a meta-analysis of clinical trials.

Background Intravenous loop diuretics are the first-line therapy for acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) but many patients are discharged with unresolved congestion resulting in higher re-hospitalization and mortality rates. Ultrafiltration (UF) is a promising intervention for ADHF. However, studies comparing UF to diuretics have been inconsistent in their clinical outcomes. Methods A comprehensive literature search was performed. Trials were included if they met the following criteria: (1) randomization with a control group, (2) comparison of UF with a loop diuretic, and (3) a diagnosis of ADHF. Results When compared to diuretics, UF was associated with a reduced risk of clinical worsening (odds ratio (OR) 0.57, 95% CI: 0.38-0.86, P-value 0.007), increased likelihood for clinical decongestion (OR 2.32, 95% CI: 1.09-4.91, P-value 0.03) with greater weight (0.97 Kg, 95% CI: 0.52-1.42, P-value <0.0001) and volume reduction (1.11 L, 95% CI: 0.68-1.54, P-value <0.0001). The overall risk of re-hospitalization (OR 0.92, 95% CI: 0.62-1.38, P-value 0.70), return to emergency department (OR 0.69, 95% CI: 0.44-1.08, P-value 0.10) and mortality (OR 0.99, 95% CI: 0.60-1.62, P-value 0.97) were not significantly improved by UF treatment. Conclusions UF is associated with significant improvements in clinical decongestion but not in rates of re-hospitalization or mortality.

Non-critical care telemetry and in-hospital cardiac arrest outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Telemetry is increasingly used to monitor hospitalized patients with lower intensities of care, but its effect on in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) outcomes in non-critical care patients is unknown. HYPOTHESIS: Telemetry utilization in non-critical care patients does not affect IHCA outcomes. METHODS: A retrospective cohort analysis of all patients in non-critical care beds that experienced a cardiac arrest in a university-affiliated teaching hospital during calendar years 2011 and 2012 was performed. Data were collected as part of AHA Get With the Guidelines protocol. The independent variable and exposure studied were whether patients were on telemetry or not. Telemetry was monitored from a central location. The primary endpoint was return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) and the secondary end point was survival to discharge. RESULTS: Of 123 IHCA patients, the mean age was 75±15 and 74 (61%) were male. 80 (65%) patients were on telemetry. Baseline demographics were similar except for age; patients on telemetry were younger with mean age of 70.3 vs. 76.8 in the non-telemetry group (p=0.024). 72 patients (60%) achieved ROSC and 46 (37%) achieved survival to discharge. By univariate analysis, there was no difference between patients that had been on telemetry vs. no telemetry in ROSC (OR=1.13, p=0.76) or survival to discharge (OR=1.18, p=0.67). Similar findings were obtained with multivariate analysis for ROSC (0.91, p=0.85) and survival to discharge (OR=0.92, p=0.87). CONCLUSIONS: The use of cardiac telemetry in non-critical care beds, when monitored remotely in a central location, is not associated with improved IHCA outcomes.

Plasma renin activity testing to guide triple antirenin system drug therapy in a patient with difficult-to-treat hypertension.

OBJECTIVE: To report a case of difficult-to-treat hypertension ultimately managed with triple antirenin (anti-R) therapy using plasma renin activity (PRA) to guide medication selection. CASE SUMMARY: A 66-year-old white man was referred to the cardiology pharmacotherapy clinic for difficult-to-treat hypertension. His initial office blood pressure (BP) was 152/71 mm Hg on diltiazem and chlorthalidone. After a series of medication adjustments based on serial PRA measurements, the patient achieved his target BP with a regimen that included 3 anti-R angiotensin system medications: carvedilol, valsartan, and aliskiren. DISCUSSION: Despite continued progress in the understanding and advances in pharmacological therapy for hypertension, uncontrolled hypertension remains a major problem. The most common strategy to control hypertension is the stepped-care approach with progressive addition of medications to eventually reach BP goal. An alternative approach includes the use of PRA measurements to guide both the addition and removal of drugs in an attempt to effectively control BP. At times, this has the potential to result in a drug regimen that is incongruous with current guidelines and practice recommendations. However, if this results in more effective BP control with the same, or fewer, number of medications, it may represent a reasonable alternative. CONCLUSION: This case report illustrates a real-world application of PRA-guided therapeutics in a patient with difficult-to-treat hypertension. It highlights how a personalized approach can lead to BP control with a more streamlined regimen than would likely result if a stepped-care approach was used.

Elevated sputum interleukin-5 and submucosal eosinophilia in obese individuals with severe asthma.

RATIONALE: The relationship between airway inflammation and obesity in severe asthma is poorly understood. OBJECTIVES: We sought to determine the relationship between sputum mediator profiles and the distribution of eosinophilic inflammation and obesity in people with severe asthma. METHODS: Clinical parameters and eight mediators in sputum were assessed in 131 subjects with severe asthma from a single center categorized into lean, overweight, and obese groups defined by their body mass index. In an independent group of people with severe asthma (n = 45) and healthy control subjects (n = 19) eosinophilic inflammation was enumerated in bronchial submucosa, blood, and sputum and related to their body mass index. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Sputum IL-5 geometric mean (95% confidence interval) (pg/ml) was elevated in the obese (1.8 [1.2-2.6]) compared with overweight (1.1 [0.8-1.3]; P = 0.025) and lean (0.9 [0.6-1.2]; P = 0.018) subjects with asthma and was correlated with body mass index (r = 0.29; P < 0.001). There was no relationship among body mass index, the sputum cell count, or other sputum mediators. In the bronchoscopy group the submucosal eosinophil number in the subjects with asthma was correlated with body mass index (Spearman rank correlation, rs = 0.38; P = 0.013) and the median (interquartile range) number of submucosal eosinophils was increased in obese (19.4 [11.8-31.2]) (cells per square millimeter) versus lean subjects (8.2 [5.4-14.6]) (P = 0.006). There was no significant association between sputum or peripheral blood eosinophil counts and body mass index. CONCLUSIONS: Sputum IL-5 and submucosal eosinophils, but not sputum eosinophils, are elevated in obese people with severe asthma. Whether specific antieosinophilic therapy is beneficial, or improved diet and lifestyle in obese asthma has antiinflammatory effects beyond weight reduction, requires further study.

Plasma renin activity testing to guide triple antirenin system drug therapy in a patient with difficult-to-treat hypertension.

OBJECTIVE: To report a case of difficult-to-treat hypertension ultimately managed with triple antirenin (anti-R) therapy using plasma renin activity (PRA) to guide medication selection. CASE SUMMARY: A 66-year-old white man was referred to the cardiology pharmacotherapy clinic for difficult-to-treat hypertension. His initial office blood pressure (BP) was 152/71 mm Hg on diltiazem and chlorthalidone. After a series of medication adjustments based on serial PRA measurements, the patient achieved his target BP with a regimen that included 3 anti-R angiotensin system medications: carvedilol, valsartan, and aliskiren. DISCUSSION: Despite continued progress in the understanding and pharmacological therapy for hypertension, uncontrolled hypertension remains a major problem. The most common strategy to control hypertension is the stepped-care approach, with progressive addition of medications to eventually reach the BP goal. An alternative approach includes the use of PRA measurements to guide both the addition and removal of drugs in an attempt to effectively control BP. At times, this has the potential to result in a drug regimen that is incongruous with current guidelines and practice recommendations. However, if this results in more effective BP control with the same, or fewer, number of medications, it may represent a reasonable alternative. CONCLUSION: This case report illustrates a real-world application of PRA-guided therapeutics in a patient with difficult-to-treat hypertension. It highlights how a personalized approach can lead to BP control with a more streamlined regimen than would likely result if a stepped-care approach was used.

Review: Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction in African Americans.

Heart failure (HF) affects 5,700 000 people in the United States, with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFPEF) being responsible for between 30%-50% of acute admissions. Epidemiological studies and HF registries have found HFPEF patients to be older, hypertensive and to have a history of atrial fibrillation. These findings, however, may not be fully applicable to African Americans, as they have been poorly studied making up only a minority of the test subjects. This review article is intended to discuss the pathophysiology and epidemiology of HFPEF within African Americans, highlight the differences compared to Caucasian populations and review current treatment guidelines. Studies looking at African Americans in particular have shown them to be younger, female and have worse diastolic dysfunction compared to Caucasian populations. African Americans also have been shown to have a worse mortality outcome especially in patients without coronary artery disease. The treatment of HFPEF is primarily symptomatic with no survival benefit seen in randomized controlled trials. Mechanisms postulated for the worse prognosis in African Americans with HFPEF include: greater incidence of hypertension and diastolic dysfunction, undefined race-driven genetic predispositions or relative resistance to medications that treat HF in general. The biological predispositions may also be compounded by inequality of healthcare access; something still felt to exist today. Prospective studies and randomized controlled trials need to be conducted with particular emphasis on African American populations to fully elucidate this disease and to formulate race specific treatment outcomes for the future.

Eosinophil protein in airway macrophages: a novel biomarker of eosinophilic inflammation in patients with asthma.

BACKGROUND: Noneosinophilic asthma is common across asthma severities. However, in patients with moderate-to-severe disease, the absence of sputum eosinophilia cannot distinguish between asthmatic subjects with eosinophilic inflammation controlled by corticosteroids versus those in whom eosinophilic inflammation is not a component of the disease. OBJECTIVES: We sought to develop a method to quantify eosinophil proteins in airway macrophages as a novel biomarker of eosinophilic airway inflammation. METHODS: Eosinophil proteins in airway macrophages were assessed by means of flow cytometry, immunofluorescence, and cytoplasmic hue change after ingestion of apoptotic eosinophils. Airway macrophage median percentage of red-hued area in stained sputum cytospin preparations was assessed by means of image analysis from (1) subjects with mild-to-severe asthma, subjects with nonasthmatic eosinophilic bronchitis, and healthy control subjects; (2) subjects with eosinophilic severe asthma after treatment with prednisolone; and (3) subject with noneosinophilic asthma before corticosteroid withdrawal. RESULTS: Eosinophil proteins were detected in airway macrophages, and cytoplasmic red hue increased after ingestion of apoptotic eosinophils. Airway macrophage percentage redhued area was increased in subjects with moderate-to-severe asthma compared with that seen in subjects with mild asthma and healthy control subjects, was similar in those with or without a sputum eosinophilia, and was increased after corticosteroid therapy. In asthmatic subjects without sputum eosinophilia, the airway macrophage percentage red-hued area was increased in subjects who did versus those who did not have sputum eosinophilia after corticosteroid withdrawal. CONCLUSIONS: Eosinophil proteins can be reliably measured in airway macrophages. In combination with sputum eosinophilia, the macrophage eosinophil protein content might further define the asthma phenotype and provide an additional tool to direct therapy.

Transient and persistent conduction abnormalities following transcatheter aortic valve replacement with the Edwards-Sapien prosthesis: a comparison between antegrade vs. retrograde approaches.

BACKGROUND: Electrocardiographic conduction abnormalities following transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) with the Edwards-Sapien valve (ESV) are not uncommon and may be transient. We sought to examine the clinical time-course of conduction abnormalities after TAVR with ESV and determine risk factors for persistent abnormalities. METHODS: In this single-center prospective study, 116 consecutive patients underwent implantation of the ESV after approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Demographic, clinical, and intra-procedural variables were collected in a registry, including ECGs before, immediately after, and at discharge from hospital. Conduction abnormalities were analyzed including PR interval lengthening, QRS widening, left bundle branch block (LBBB), and high-grade AV block. RESULTS: There were 92 patients included in the analysis. A total of 41 new conduction abnormalities were observed in 31 (34 %) patients: 7 new PR prolongation, 14 QRS widening, 14 new LBBB, and 5 high-grade AV block requiring permanent pacemaker. Of the 41 new CAs, 11 (27 %) were transient; of the transient abnormalities, 9 (82 %) resolved within 24 h of the index procedure. Chronic kidney disease was a risk factor for the development of a persistent abnormality and for need for PPM. Antegrade approach was associated with the development of persistent LBBB and persistent QRS widening. CONCLUSIONS: A significant proportion of conduction abnormalities after ESV implantation improved prior to discharge from the hospital, usually within 24 h. CKD is associated with persistence of abnormalities and with need for PPM. Antegrade approach increases risk for new intraventricular conduction delays, including LBBB.

Acute myocardial infarction during regadenoson myocardial perfusion imaging.

Pharmacologic stress testing uses vasodilators to provide objective evidence of myocardial ischemia. Adenosine and dipyridamole are nonselective adenosine receptor agonists that have been associated with myocardial infarction (MI) during intravenous infusion. Mechanisms postulated for this effect include coronary steal, transmural steal, global hypotension, and direct vasoconstriction. Regadenoson, a direct A2A agonist, was approved for use in stress testing in 2008. We describe a 68-year-old man who presented to our institution with typical angina, relieved by nitroglycerin. He did not have electrocardiogram (ECG) changes suggestive of myocardial pathology, and laboratory testing did not reveal a significant rise in troponin-I levels. To further assess the etiology of his symptoms, he underwent a pharmacologic stress test with regadenoson followed by technetium 99 m sestamibi. Six minutes after regadenoson infusion, the patient developed severe retrosternal chest pain accompanied by ST elevations on ECG. Sublingual nitroglycerin was administered that resolved both the pain and ECG changes. The patient subsequently underwent urgent coronary angiography and was found to have a 95% critical stenosis involving the left anterior descending artery. We conclude this case represents a MI secondary to coronary steal phenomenon induced by regadenoson infusion. Clinicians should be aware this adverse effect can occur despite the improved side-effect profile of regadenoson. Continuous monitoring of vital signs and the ECG with regular assessment of symptoms is imperative to identify this rare but potentially devastating adverse event.

Irrigated radiofrequency ablation catheter and electro-anatomical mapping with computerized tomography integration for renal artery sympathetic denervation.

Despite over 6 decades of progress in the development of pharmacological therapy for hypertension, severe drug-resistant hypertension remains a major problem. Endovascular radiofrequency ablation of the proximal renal arteries has been reported to decrease renal artery sympathetic activity and improve long-term hypertensive control. Existing "approved" catheters for this procedure are solid tip, non-irrigated, and often difficult to steer. The existing technique uses angiography and lends itself to increased risk of renal scarring and possible stenosis. We describe a patient with multi-drug resistant hypertension who underwent catheter ablation of the bilateral renal arteries, using for the first time, an open irrigated cardiac ablation catheter with both electro-anatomical guidance and computerized tomography anatomical integration. We used "off-label" irrigated catheters, which are less prone to overheating and char formation at the catheter-surface interface, thereby decreasing the possibility of distal embolization to the renal parenchyma. The integration of electro-anatomical mapping into this procedure allowed us to avoid inadvertent circumferential ablation of the artery using electro-anatomical mapping may lower the risk of subsequent renal artery stenosis.