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Background: Older patients hospitalized with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) have marked functional impairments, which may contribute to their delayed and incomplete recovery and persistently poor outcomes. However, whether impairment severity differs by race and sex is unknown., Methods: REHAB-HF trial participants (≥60 years) were assessed just before discharge home from ADHF hospitalization. Physical function [Short Physical Performance Battery; 6-min walk distance (6MWD)], frailty (Fried criteria), cognition [Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA)], quality-of-life [Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire, Short-Form-12, EuroQol-5D-5L], and depression [Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS)] were examined by race and sex., Results: This prespecified subgroup cross-sectional analysis included 337 older adults (52% female, 50% Black). Black participants were on average younger than White participants (70.3 ± 7.2 vs. 74.7 ± 8.3 years). After age, body mass index, ejection fraction, comorbidity, and education adjustment, and impairments were similarly common and severe across groups except: Black male and Black and White female participants had more severely impaired walking function compared with White male participants [6MWD (m) 187 ± 12, 168 ± 9170 ± 11 vs. 239 ± 9, p < 0.001]; gait speed (m/s) (0.61 ± 0.03, 0.56 ± 0.02, 0.55 ± 0.02 vs. 0.69 ± 0.02, p < 0.001); White female participants had the highest frailty prevalence (72% vs. 47%-51%, p = 0.007); and Black participants had lower MoCA scores compared with White participants (20.9 ± 4.5 vs. 22.8 ± 3.9, p < 0.001). Depressive symptoms were common overall (43% GDS ≥5), yet underrecognized clinically (18%), especially in Black male participants compared with White male participants (7% vs. 20%)., Conclusion: Among older patients hospitalized for ADHF, frailty and functional impairments with high potential to jeopardize patient HF self-management, safety, and independence were common and severe across all race and sex groups. Impairment severity was often worse in Black participant and female participant groups. Formal screening across frailty and functional domains may identify those who may require greater support and more tailored care to reduce the risk of adverse events and excess hospitalizations and death., (© 2022 The American Geriatrics Society.)

Objectives: To evaluate the effects of an aldosterone antagonist on exercise intolerance in older adults with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF)., Design: Randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial., Setting: Academic medical center, Winston-Salem, North Carolina., Participants: Older adults (N = 80, aged 71 ± 1; 80% female) with stable compensated HFpEF and controlled blood pressure (BP)., Measurements: Participants were randomized into a 9-month treatment of spironolactone 25 mg/d vs placebo. Assessments were peak exercise oxygen consumption (VO 2 ), 6-minute walk test, Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ), cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, Doppler echocardiography, and vascular ultrasound., Results: Seventy-one participants completed the trial: 37 in the spironolactone group and 34 in the placebo group. Adherence according to pill count was excellent (spironolactone 95%, placebo 97%). Mean spironolactone dose was 24.3 ± 2.9 mg/d and was well tolerated. Spironolactone significantly reduced systolic and diastolic BP at rest and peak exercise. At 9-month follow-up, baseline-adjusted peak VO 2, the primary outcome, was 13.5 ± 0.3 mL/kg per minute in the spironolactone group versus 13.9 ± 0.3 mL/kg per minute in the placebo group (adjusted mean difference -0.4 mL/kg per minute; 95% confidence interval = -1.1-0.4 mL/kg per minute; P = .38). The 95% confidence intervals of spironolactone's effect on peak VO 2 (-8.2% to 3.2%) excluded a clinically significant beneficial effect. There were also no significant differences in 6-minute walk distance, arterial stiffness, left ventricular (LV) mass, LV mass/end-diastolic volume, or MLHFQ score., Conclusion: In older adults with stable compensated HFpEF, 9 months of spironolactone 25 mg/d was well tolerated and reduced BP but did not improve exercise capacity, quality of life, LV mass, or arterial stiffness., (© 2017, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2017, The American Geriatrics Society.)

The majority of older adults who develop heart failure (HF), particularly older women, have a preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (HFpEF). The prevalence of this syndrome is increasing, and the prognosis is not improving, unlike that of HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Individuals with HFpEF have severe symptoms of effort intolerance, poor quality of life, frequent hospitalizations, and greater likelihood of death. Despite the importance of HFpEF, there are numerous major gaps in our understanding of its pathophysiology and management. Although it was originally viewed as a disorder due solely to abnormalities in left ventricular diastolic function, our understanding has evolved such that HFpEF is now understood as a systemic syndrome involving multiple organ systems, and it is likely that it is triggered by inflammation and other as-yet-unidentified circulating factors, with important contributions of aging and multiple comorbidities, features generally typical of other geriatric syndromes. We present an update on the pathophysiology, diagnosis, management, and future directions in this disorder in older persons., (© 2017, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2017, The American Geriatrics Society.)