ESC heart failure
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Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) poses a substantial challenge for clinicians, but there is little guidance for effective management. The aim of this systematic review was to determine if there was evidence that disease management programmes (DMPs) improved outcomes for patients with HFpEF. ⋯ Varying definitions of HFpEF used in studies are a substantial limitation in interpretation of findings. The reduced efficacy noted in contemporary HF DMP studies may not only be due to improvements in usual care but may also reflect inclusion of heterogeneous patients with HFpEF or HF with mid-range EF who may not respond in the same way as HFrEF to individual components. Given that patients with HFpEF are older and multi-morbid, DMPs targeting HFpEF should not rely on a single-disease focus but provide care that addresses predisposing and presentation phenotypes and draws on the principles of comprehensive geriatric assessment. Other components could also be more targeted to HFpEF such as modification of lifestyle factors for which there is emerging evidence, rather than simply continuing the model of care used in HFrEF. Based on current evidence, HF DMPs may improve mortality, hospitalization rates, self-care, and quality of life in patients with HFpEF; however, further research specifically tailored to appropriately defined HFpEF is required.
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In this study, we investigated the prognostic interplay of left ventricular hypertrophy and mechanical dyssynchrony (LVMD), both of which can be measured three-dimensionally by gated myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI), in patients with chronic systolic heart failure (HF). ⋯ Three-dimensionally assessed LVMD has independent prognostic values and can improve the risk stratification of chronic HF patients synergistically in combination with conventional clinical parameters.