Internal and emergency medicine
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Left ventricular ejection fraction (EF) is helpful to differentiate heart failure (HF) phenotype in clinical practice. The aim of the study was to identify simple echocardiographic predictors of post-discharge all-cause mortality in hospitalized HF patients. Patients with acute HF (75 ± 9.8 years), classified in preserved (≥ 50%) and reduced (< 50%) EF (HFpEF and HFrEF, respectively), were enrolled. ⋯ At Kaplan-Meier analysis, no differences of survival between HFrEF and HFpEF were found, however, significantly increased all-cause mortality for higher values of basal-RVd, BUN, and IVCd (log-rank p = 0.0065, 0.0063, 0.0005) in HFpEF, and for COPD and higher LAV (log-rank p = 0.0046, p = 0.033) in HFrEF. These data are indicative that in patients hospitalized with HF, EF is not a suitable predictor of long-term all-cause mortality, whereas, right ventricular volumetric remodeling and IVCd have a prognostic role in HFpEF as well as LAV in HFrEF. Our study suggests that besides EF, other echocardiographic parameters are helpful to optimize the phenotyping and prognostic stratification of HF.
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This study was aimed at evaluating whether transient dipyridamole-induced myocardial ischemia in hypertensive patients reflects on endothelin-1 plasma levels by comparing normotensives and hypertensives with or without stable angina. Endothelin-1 plasma levels were assessed in baseline conditions and after provocative stress test by dipyridamole. ⋯ Our data showed a marked post-DES increase of endothelin-1 plasma levels in hypertensives with stable angina (mean levels = 16.50 ± 4.19 pg/ml p < 0.001 vs. baseline = 9.05 ± 1.37 pg/ml) and a minor increase in stable angina pts (mean levels = 8.3 ± 1.75 pg/ml p < 0.01 vs. baseline = 6.74 ± 0.61 pg/ml) whereas non significant increase was observed both in control (mean levels = 5.09 ± 0.83 pg/ml p = n.s. vs. baseline = 4.91 ± 1.04 pg/ml) and hypertensives groups (mean levels = 6.34 ± 1.72 pg/ml p = n.s. vs. baseline = 5.95 ± 1.04 pg/ml). ET-1 involvement in hypertension-related ischemic heart disease patho-physiology appears to be considered.
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We investigated the adverse renal outcomes in patients affected by either atrial fibrillation (Afib) or atrial flutter (AFL). Using the Taiwan National Health Insurance research database, both cohorts were 1:1 propensity score matched based on age, sex, index year, and comorbidity using logistic regression model. Hazard ratios (HRs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of acute kidney injury (AKI), chronic kidney disease (CKD), and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) between the two cohorts were obtained using Cox proportional hazard regression models. ⋯ Afib patients were 1.08 times (95% CI = 1.01-1.16) more likely to have AKI than AFL patients after adjusting for confounding covariates. Competing risk analysis showed that Afib patients were 1.08 (95% CI = 1.01-1.15), 1.18 (95% CI = 1.07-1.30) and 1.32 (95% CI = 1.12-1.55) times more likely to experience AKI, CKD and ESRD than AFL subjects. This study showed that Afib conferred worse renal events of AKI, CKD and ESRD than AFL.
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In the original publication, part of conflict of statement was incorrectly published.