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Safety, Tolerability and Efficacy of Rapid Optimization, Helped by NT-proBNP Testing, of Heart Failure Therapies (STRONG-HF) demonstrated the safety and efficacy of rapid up-titration of guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) with high-intensity care (HIC) compared with usual care in patients hospitalized for acute heart failure (HF). In the HIC group, the following safety indicators were used to guide up-titration: estimated glomerular filtration rate of <30 mL/min/1.73 m2, serum potassium of >5.0 mmol/L, systolic blood pressure (SBP) of <95 mmHg, heart rate of <55 bpm, and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide concentration of >10% higher than predischarge values. We examined the impact of protocol-specified safety indicators on achieved dose of GDMT and clinical outcomes. Three hundred thirteen of the 542 patients in the HIC arm (57.7%) met ≥1 safety indicator at any follow-up visit 1–6 weeks after discharge. As compared with those without, patients meeting ≥1 safety indicator had more severe HF symptoms, lower SBP, and higher heart rate at baseline and achieved a lower average percentage of GDMT optimal doses (mean difference vs the HIC arm patients not reaching any safety indicator, –11.0% [95% confidence interval [CI] –13.6 to –8.4%], P <.001). The primary end point of 180-day all-cause death or HF readmission occurred in 15.0% of patients with any safety indicator vs 14.2% of those without (adjusted hazard ratio 0.84, 95% CI 0.48–1.46, P =.540). None of each of the safety indicators, considered alone, was significantly associated with the primary end point, but an SBP of <95 mm Hg was associated with a trend toward increased 180-day all-cause mortality (adjusted hazard ratio 2.68, 95% CI 0.94–7.64, P =.065) and estimated glomerular filtration rate decreased to <30 mL/min/1.73 m2 with more HF readmissions (adjusted hazard ratio 3.60, 95% CI 1.22–10.60, P =.0203). The occurrence of a safety indicator was associated with a smaller 90-day improvement in the EURO-QoL 5-Dimension visual analog scale (adjusted mean difference –3.32 points, 95% CI –5.97 to –0.66, P =.015). Among patients with acute HF enrolled in STRONG-HF in the HIC arm, the occurrence of any safety indicator was associated with the administration of slightly lower GDMT doses and less improvement in quality of life, but with no significant increase in the primary outcome of 180-day HF readmission or death when appropriately addressed according to the study protocol. Prevalence of, outcome and average percentage of guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) doses by safety indicators in patients receiving high-intensity care after hospital admission for acute heart failure in the Safety, Tolerability and Efficacy of Rapid Optimization, Helped by NT-proBNP Testing, of Heart Failure Therapies (STRONG-HF) trial. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: A high‐intensity care (HIC) strategy with rapid guideline‐directed medical therapy (GDMT) up‐titration and close follow‐up visits improved outcomes, compared to usual care (UC), in patients recently hospitalized for acute heart failure (AHF). Hypotension is a major limitation to GDMT implementation. We aimed to assess the impact of baseline systolic blood pressure (SBP) on the effects of HIC versus UC and the role of early SBP changes in STRONG‐HF. Methods and results: A total of 1075 patients hospitalized for AHF with SBP ≥100 mmHg were included in STRONG‐HF. For the purpose of this post‐hoc analysis, patients were stratified by tertiles of baseline SBP (<118, 118–128, and ≥129 mmHg) and, in the HIC arm, by tertiles of changes in SBP from the values measured before discharge to those measured at 1 week after discharge (≥2 mmHg increase, ≤7 mmHg decrease to <2 mmHg increase, and ≥8 mmHg decrease). The primary endpoint was 180‐day heart failure rehospitalization or death. The effect of HIC versus UC on the primary endpoint was independent of baseline SBP evaluated as tertiles (pinteraction = 0.77) or as a continuous variable (pinteraction = 0.91). In the HIC arm, patients with increased, stable and decreased SBP at 1 week reached 83.5%, 76.2% and 75.3% of target doses of GDMT at day 90. The risk of the primary endpoint was not significantly different between patients with different SBP changes at 1 week (adjusted p = 0.46). Conclusions: In STRONG‐HF, the benefits of HIC versus UC were independent of baseline SBP. Rapid GDMT up‐titration was performed also in patients with an early SBP drop, resulting in similar 180‐day outcome as compared to patients with stable or increased SBP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: STRONG‐HF examined a high‐intensity care (HIC) strategy of rapid up‐titration of guideline‐directed medical therapy (GDMT) and close follow‐up after acute heart failure (AHF) admission. We assess the role of age on efficacy and safety of HIC. Methods and results: Hospitalized AHF patients, not treated with optimal GDMT were randomized to HIC or usual care. The primary endpoint of 180‐day death or HF readmission occurred equally in older (>65 years, n = 493, 74 ± 5 years) and younger patients (53 ± 11 years, adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 1.02, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.73–1.43, p = 0.89). Older patients received slightly lower GDMT to day 21, but same doses at day 90 and 180. The effect of HIC on the primary endpoint was numerically higher in younger (aHR 0.51, 95% CI 0.32–0.82) than older patients (aHR 0.73, 95% CI 0.46–1.15, adjusted interaction p = 0.30), partially related to COVID‐19 deaths. After exclusion of COVID‐19 deaths, the effect of HIC was similar in younger (aHR 0.51, 95% CI 0.32–0.82) and older patients (aHR 0.63, 95% CI 0.32–1.02, adjusted interaction p = 0.56), with no treatment‐by‐age interaction (interaction p = 0.57). HIC induced larger improvements in quality of life to day 90 in younger (EQ‐VAS adjusted‐mean difference 5.51, 95% CI 3.20–7.82) than in older patients (1.77, 95% CI −0.75 to 4.29, interaction p = 0.032). HIC was associated with similar rates of adverse events in older and younger patients. Conclusion: High‐intensity care after AHF was safe and resulted in a significant reduction of all‐cause death or HF readmission at 180 days across the study age spectrum. Older patients have smaller benefits in terms of quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate efficacy and safety of rapid up‐titration of guideline‐directed medical therapies (GDMT) in men and women hospitalized for acute heart failure (AHF). Methods and results: In STRONG‐HF, AHF patients were randomized just prior to discharge to either usual care (UC) or a high‐intensity care (HIC) strategy of GDMT up‐titration. In these analyses, we compared the implementation, efficacy, and safety of the HIC strategy between men and women. In the randomized AHF population, 416/1078 (39%) were women. By day 90, a higher proportion of both sexes in the HIC group had been up‐titrated to full doses of GDMT compared to UC. Overall, there were no differences in the primary endpoint between the sexes. The primary endpoint, 180‐day heart failure readmission or death, occurred in 15.8% HIC women versus 23.5% women in the UC group (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 0.67, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.40–1.13) and in 14.9% HIC men versus 23.5% UC men (adjusted HR 0.57, 95% CI 0.38–0.88) (adjusted interaction p = 0.65). There was no significant treatment‐by‐sex interaction in quality‐of‐life improvement or in adverse events, including serious or fatal adverse events. Conclusion: The results of the current analyses suggest that a rapid up‐titration of GDMT immediately after an AHF hospitalization can and should be implemented similarly in men and women, as it results in reduction of 180‐day all‐cause death or heart failure readmission, quality‐of‐life improvement in both men and women with a similar safety profile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Readmission and mortality are the most common and often combined endpoints in acute heart failure (AHF) trials, but an association between these two outcomes is poorly investigated. The aim of this study was to determine whether unplanned readmission is associated with a greater subsequent risk of death in patients with acute dyspnoea due to cardiac and non‐cardiac causes. Methods and results: Derivation cohort (1371 patients from the LEDA study) and validation cohort (1986 patients from the BASEL V study) included acute dyspnoea patients admitted to the emergency department. Cox regression analysis was used to determine the association of 6 month readmission and the risk of 1 year all‐cause mortality in AHF and non‐AHF patients and those readmitted due to cardiovascular and non‐cardiovascular causes. In the derivation cohort, 666 (49%) of patients were readmitted at 6 months and 282 (21%) died within 1 year. Six month readmission was associated with an increased 1 year mortality risk in both the derivation cohort [adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) 3.0 (95% confidence interval, CI 2.2–4.0), P < 0.001] and the validation cohort (aHR 1.8, 95% CI 1.4–2.2, P < 0.001). The significant association was similarly observed in AHF (aHR 3.2, 95% CI 2.1–4.9, P < 0.001) and other causes of acute dyspnoea (aHR 2.9, 95% CI 1.9–4.5, P < 0.001), and it did not depend on the aetiology [aHR 2.2, 95% CI 1.6–3.1 for cardiovascular readmissions; aHR 4.1, 95% CI 2.9–5.7 for non‐cardiovascular readmissions (P < 0.001 for both)] or timing of readmission. Conclusion​s: Our study demonstrated a long‐lasting detrimental association between readmission and death in AHF and non‐AHF patients with acute dyspnoea. These patients should be considered 'vulnerable patients' that require personalized follow‐up for an extended period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Acute heart failure (AHF) is frequent and life‐threatening disease. However, innovative AHF therapies have remained limited, and care is based on experts' opinion. Temporal trends and benefits of long‐term oral cardiovascular medications on AHF outcomes remain uncertain. Methods and results: This study is registered with PROSPERO (CRD42018099885). A systematic review ranging from 1980 to 2017, searched AHF studies with more than 100 patients that reported death and/or readmission. Primary outcomes were temporal trends, assessed by meta‐regression, for 30‐day or 1‐year all‐cause death and/or readmission rates. Secondary outcomes were temporal trends of oral cardiovascular therapies and their influence on primary outcomes. Among the 45 143 studies screened, 285 were included, representing 15 million AHFs. In the past decades, though mortality and readmission remain high, there was a decline in 30‐day all‐cause death [odds ratio (OR) for a 10‐year increment: 0.74, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.61–0.91; P = 0.004] that persisted at 1 year (OR 0.86, 95% CI 0.77–0.96; P = 0.007), while 30‐day and 1‐year all‐cause readmission rate remained roughly unchanged. Trends of primary outcomes were linear and did not differ among continents. Decline in 1‐year all‐cause death rate correlated with high proportions of oral or beta‐blockers, especially when combined with oral renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system inhibitors, but not with diuretics while trends in readmission remained unchanged with these therapies. Conclusions: Although AHF outcomes remain poor, the present study revealed global favourable trends of survival after AHF episodes probably associated with greater use of oral neurohormonal antagonists. The present study urges to implement the combination of oral renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system inhibitors and beta‐blockers in patients at risk of AHF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Over the last 30 years, many medicine development programmes in acute and chronic heart failure (HF) with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) have failed, in contrast to those in HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). We explore how the neutral results in larger HF trials may be attributable to chance and/or the dilution of statistical power.Methods and Results: Using simulations, we examined the probability that a positive finding in a Phase 2 trial would result in the study of a truly effective medicine in a Phase 3 trial. We assessed the similarity of clinical trial and registry patient populations. We conducted a meta-analysis of paired Phase 2 and 3 trials in HFrEF and acute HF examining the associations of trial phase and size with placebo event rates and treatment effects for HF events and death. We estimated loss in trial power attributable to dilution with increasing trial size. Appropriately powered Phase 3 trials should have yielded ∼35% positive results. Patient populations in Phase 3 trials are similar to those in Phase 2 trials but both differ substantially from the populations of 'real-life' registries. We observed decreasing placebo event rates and smaller treatment effects with increasing trial size, especially for HF events (and less so for mortality). This was more pronounced in trials in acute HF patients.Conclusions: The selection of more positive Phase 2 trials for further development does not explain the failure of HFpEF and acute HF medicine development. Increasing sample size may lead to reduced event rates and smaller treatment effects, resulting in a high rate of neutral Phase 3 trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute coronary syndrome is a precipitant of acute heart failure in a substantial proportion of cases, and the presence of both conditions is associated with a higher risk of short-term mortality compared to acute coronary syndrome alone. The diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome in the setting of acute heart failure can be challenging. Patients may present with atypical or absent chest pain, electrocardiograms can be confounded by pre-existing abnormalities, and cardiac biomarkers are frequently elevated in patients with chronic or acute heart failure, independently of acute coronary syndrome. It is important to distinguish transient or limited myocardial injury from primary myocardial infarction due to vascular events in patients presenting with acute heart failure. This paper outlines various clinical scenarios to help differentiate between these conditions and aims to provide clinicians with tools to aid in the recognition of acute coronary syndrome as a cause of acute heart failure. Interpretation of electrocardiogram and biomarker findings, and imaging techniques that may be helpful in the diagnostic work-up are described. Guidelines recommend an immediate invasive strategy for patients with acute heart failure and acute coronary syndrome, regardless of electrocardiographic or biomarker findings. Pharmacological management of patients with acute coronary syndrome and acute heart failure should follow guidelines for each of these syndromes, with priority given to time-sensitive therapies for both. Studies conducted specifically in patients with the combination of acute coronary syndrome and acute heart failure are needed to better define the management of these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Changes in echocardiographic parameters and biomarkers of cardiac and venous pressures or estimated plasma volume during hospitalization associated with decongestive treatments in acute heart failure (AHF) patients with either preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (HFPEF) or reduced LVEF (HFREF) are poorly assessed. Methods and results: From the metabolic road to diastolic heart failure: diastolic heart failure (MEDIA‐DHF) study, 111 patients were included in this substudy: 77 AHF (43 HFPEF and 34 HFREF) and 34 non‐cardiac dyspnea patients. Echocardiographic measurements and blood samples were obtained within 4 h of presentation at the emergency department and before hospital discharge. In AHF patients, echocardiographic indices of cardiac and venous pressures, including inferior vena cava diameter [from 22 (16–24) mm to 13 (11–18) mm, P = 0.009], its respiratory variability [from 32 (8–44) % to 43 (29–70) %, P = 0.04], medial E/e' [from 21.1 (15.8–29.6) to 16.6 (11.7–24.3), P = 0.004], and E wave deceleration time [from 129 (105–156) ms to 166 (128–203) ms, P = 0.003], improved during hospitalization, similarly in HFPEF and HFREF patients. By contrast, no changes were seen in non‐cardiac dyspnea patients. In AHF patients, all plasma biomarkers of cardiac and venous pressures, namely B‐type natriuretic peptide [from 935 (514–2037) pg/mL to 308 (183–609) pg/mL, P < 0.001], mid‐regional pro‐atrial natriuretic peptide [from 449 (274–653) pmol/L to 366 (242–549) pmol/L, P < 0.001], and soluble CD‐146 levels [from 528 (406–654) ng/mL to 450 (374–529) ng/mL, P = 0.003], significantly decreased during hospitalization, similarly in HFPEF and HFREF patients. Echocardiographic parameters of cardiac chamber dimensions [left ventricular end‐diastolic volume: from 120 (76–140) mL to 118 (95–176) mL, P = 0.23] and cardiac index [from 2.1 (1.6–2.6) mL/min/m2 to 1.9 (1.4–2.4) mL/min/m2, P = 0.55] were unchanged in AHF patients, except tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) that improved during hospitalization [from 16 (15–19) mm to 19 (17–21) mm, P = 0.04]. Estimated plasma volume increased in both AHF [from 4.8 (4.2–5.6) to 5.1 (4.4–5.8), P = 0.03] and non‐cardiac dyspnea patients (P = 0.01). Serum creatinine [from 1.18 (0.90–1.53) to 1.19 (0.86–1.70) mg/dL, P = 0.89] and creatinine‐based estimated glomerular filtration rate [from 59 (40–75) mL/min/1.73m2 to 56 (38–73) mL/min/1.73m2, P = 0.09] were similar, while plasma cystatin C [from 1.50 (1.20–2.27) mg/L to 1.78 (1.33–2.59) mg/L, P < 0.001] and neutrophil gelatinase associated lipocalin (NGAL) [from 127 (95–260) ng/mL to 167 (104–263) ng/mL, P = 0.004] increased during hospitalization in AHF. Conclusions: Echocardiographic parameters and plasma biomarkers of cardiac and venous pressures improved during AHF hospitalization in both acute HFPEF and HFREF patients, while cardiac chamber dimensions, cardiac output, and estimated plasma volume showed minimal changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Heart failure oral therapies (HFOTs), including beta-blockers (BB), renin-angiotensin system inhibitors (RASi) and mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists, administered before hospital discharge after acute heart failure (AHF) might improve outcome. However, concerns have been raised because early administration of HFOTs may worsen patient's condition. We hypothesized that HFOTs at hospital discharge might be associated with better post-discharge survival.Methods and Results: The study population was composed of 19 980 AHF patients from the GREAT registry. The primary and secondary outcomes were 90-day and 1-year all-cause mortality, respectively. Survival was estimated with univariate and covariate-adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression models for the whole population and after propensity-score matching. HFOTs at discharge were consistently associated with no excess mortality in the unadjusted and adjusted analyses of the whole and matched cohorts. In the matched cohort, BB and RASi at discharge were associated with lower 90-day mortality risks compared to the respective untreated groups [hazard ratio (HR) 0.56, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.46-0.69; and HR 0.53, 95% CI 0.42-0.66, respectively]. The favourable associations of BB and RASi at discharge with 90-day mortality were present in many subgroups including patients with reduced or preserved left ventricular ejection fraction and persisted up to 1 year after discharge. The combination of RASi and BB was associated with an even lower risk of death than RASi or BB alone.Conclusions: Administration of HFOTs at hospital discharge is associated with better survival of AHF patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Several clinical conditions may precipitate acute heart failure (AHF) and influence clinical outcome. In this study we hypothesized that precipitating factors are independently associated with 90-day risk of death in AHF.Methods and Results: The study population consisted of 15 828 AHF patients from Europe and Asia. The primary outcome was 90-day all-cause mortality according to identified precipitating factors of AHF [acute coronary syndrome (ACS), infection, atrial fibrillation (AF), hypertension, and non-compliance]. Mortality at 90 days was 15.8%. AHF precipitated by ACS or by infection showed increased 90-day risk of death compared with AHF without identified precipitants [hazard ratio (HR) 1.69, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.44-1.97, P < 0.001; and HR 1.51, 95% CI 1.18-1.92, P = 0.001), while AHF precipitated by AF showed lower 90-day risk of death (HR 0.56, 95% CI 0.42-0.75, P < 0.001), after multivariable adjustment. The risk of death in AHF precipitated by ACS was the highest during the first week after admission, while in AHF precipitated by infection the risk of death had a delayed peak at week 3. In AHF precipitated by AF, a trend toward reduced risk of death during the first weeks was shown. At weeks 5-6, AHF precipitated by ACS, infection, or AF showed similar risk of death to that of AHF without identified precipitants.Conclusions: Precipitating factors are independently associated with 90-day mortality in AHF. AHF precipitated by ACS or infection is independently associated with higher, while AHF precipitated by AF is associated with lower 90-day risk of death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Abstract: Background: We compared diagnostic and prognostic properties of brain natruiretic peptide (BNP), proBNP, NT-proBNP and MR-pro-atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) in patients admitted with shortness of breath (SOB). Methods: All 4 NPs were measured in patients admitted to the emergency unit with SOB (in 2 centers) or acute heart failure (AHF) (1 FINN-AKVA cohort) and in a control population of stable chronic HF. Follow-up was 1 (2 centers) and 5years (1 FINN-AKVA cohort). Area under the curve (AUC) was used to assess diagnostic properties. AUC, multivariate Cox regression, net reclassification improvement (NRI), and Kaplan–Meier analyses were used to assess mortality. Results: We included 710 patients (“Biomarcoeurs” cohort n=336; FINN-AKVA study, n=306; stable chronic HF, n=68). Pro-BNP was almost as powerful as BNP to diagnose AHF (AUC 0.953 vs 0.973 respectively, p=0.003), NT-proBNP also performed well (0.922, p<0.001 vs BNP). MR-proANP performed less well (0.901). AUC over time showed greater MR-proANP values over the first year. At 5years, MR-proANP had the best prognostic value (AUC 0.668 vs 0.604 for BNP, p=0.042). Kaplan Meier analysis confirmed better survival with MR-proANP≤416.8pmol/L at 5years. NRI at 5years was greater for MR-proANP (0.23, p<0.05) than for proBNP, BNP or NTproBNP (p=NS). Conclusion: Our study provides firm evidence that all NPs perform equally well for diagnostic purposes, and that MR-proANP has long term prognostic value in patients with acute heart failure. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Aims Loop diuretics are recommended to treat congestion in heart failure (HF), despite limited quality evidence. High-dose (HD) loop diuretics seem to worsen outcomes in chronic HF, though; data for acute HF are scarce, with equivocal results. Methods and results The ALARM-HF study recorded in-hospital HF therapy in 4953 patients from nine countries. A post-hoc analysis was performed to determine if there was an interaction between intravenous (iv) bolus diuretic dosing and outcomes. Patients were classified as receiving high- or low-dose iv furosemide if their total initial 24 h dose was above (HD) or below [low dose (LD)] 1 mg/kg. Propensity scoring, matching an extensive list of variables, was performed. High-dose and LD patients were matched by propensity scores and outcomes determined. We identified 2460 LD and 848 HD patients, with overall in-hospital mortality of 9 and 13% (P= 0.002), respectively. After propensity matching, there were 506 patients in each subgroup, with the matched LD and HD cohorts having similar mortality (13 vs. 15%; P= 0.4). We further investigated in which subgroups of patients HD diuretics influenced mortality. Before matching, HD diuretics were associated with a greater risk of in-hospital death in some subgroups, including patients aged >80 years, those with an acute coronary syndrome, or with a left ventricular ejection fraction <40%. However, after propensity score matching, no association was found between diuretic dosing and death in any of the studied subgroups. Conclusions In the initial management of acute HF, HD iv diuretics, per se, do not influence short-term mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The vast majority of acute heart failure (AHF) trials to date have targeted dyspnoea. However, they enrolled patients relatively late and did not standardize their methods of dyspnoea measurement. URGENT Dyspnoea was designed to determine changes in dyspnoea in response to initial, standard therapy in patients presenting with AHF using a standardized approach. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Acute heart failure (AHF) is associated with a poor prognosis regardless of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). STRONG-HF showed the efficacy and safety of a strategy of rapid uptitration of oral treatment for heart failure (HF) and close follow-up (high-intensity care), compared with usual care, in patients recently hospitalized for AHF and enrolled independently from their LVEF. In this study, we sought to assess the impact of baseline LVEF on the effects of high-intensity care vs usual care in STRONG-HF. The STRONG-HF trial enrolled patients hospitalized for AHF with any LVEF and not treated with full doses of renin-angiotensin inhibitors, beta-blockers, and mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists. High-intensity care with uptitration of oral medications was performed independently from LVEF. The primary endpoint was the composite of HF rehospitalization or all-cause death at day 180. Among the 1,078 patients randomized, 731 (68%) had LVEF ≤40% and 347 (32%) had LVEF >40%. The treatment benefit of high-intensity care vs usual care on the primary endpoint was consistent across the whole LVEF spectrum (interaction P with LVEF as a continuous variable = 0.372). Mean difference in the EQ-5D visual analog scale change from baseline to day 90 between treatment arms was slightly greater at higher LVEF values, but with no interaction between LVEF as a continuous variable and the treatment strategy (interaction P = 0.358). Serious adverse events were also independent from LVEF. Rapid uptitration of oral medications for HF and close follow-up reduce 180-day death and HF rehospitalization after AHF hospitalization independently from LVEF. (Safety, Tolerability and Efficacy of Rapid Optimization, Helped by NT-ProBNP Testing, of Heart Failure Therapies [STRONG-HF]; NCT03412201) [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective(s) Dyspnoea is a common and often debilitating symptom that affects up to 50% of patients admitted to acute tertiary care hospitals. The primary purpose of this study was to compare the numeric rating scale (NRS) and the visual analogue scale (VAS) for dyspnoea evaluation in the ED setting. Study design and patients This was a cohort study of patients admitted to the ED in a university hospital, with dyspnoea as the chief complaint. Methods The agreement of the two dyspnoea scales was assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Results One hundred and seventeen patients were included in this analysis. The median age for the whole study population was 67 years and 42% of patients were male. The aetiology of dyspnoea was acute heart failure (AHF) in 35% of patients. There was good agreement between the two scores (ICC = 0.795; 95% CI = 0.717–0.853; P < 0.001). Conclusions This pilot study demonstrated that numerical rating and visual analogue scales agree well when assessing the severity of dyspnoea in the ED. Further studies with larger cohorts of patients are needed to confirm these preliminary results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The accurate early diagnosis of acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients with acute heart failure (AHF) is an unmet clinical need. Cystatin C might improve the early detection of AKI. Methods 207 patients presenting to the emergency department with AHF were enrolled. Cystatin C was measured in plasma in a blinded fashion at presentation and serially thereafter. The potential of Cystatin C levels to predict AKI was assessed as the primary endpoint. Long-term mortality was assessed as a secondary endpoint. Results At presentation, creatinine (140 μmol/L [91–203] vs. 97 μmol/L [76–132], p < 0.01) and Cystatin C (2.00 mg/L [1.30–3.08] vs. 1.45 mg/L [1.00–1.90], p < 0.01) levels were significantly higher in AKI compared to Non-AKI patients. The diagnostic accuracy for AKI quantified by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was mediocre and comparable for both markers (creatinine 0.68; 95%CI 0.58–78 vs. Cystatin C 0.67; 95%CI 0.58–0.76). Serial measurements of Cystatin C did not further increase the prognostic accuracy for AKI. Cystatin C levels were significantly higher in decedents than in survivors (1.90 mg/L [1.30–2.70] vs. 1.30 mg/L [1.0–1.6], p < 0.001). The combination of Cystatin C and BNP levels significantly improved the prediction of mortality provided by either parameter alone. In multivariable regression analysis Cystatin C remained independently associated with mortality (HR 1.41; 95%CI 1.02–1.95). Conclusion Plasma Cystatin C levels do not adequately predict AKI in patients with AHF. However, in multivariable regression analysis Cystatin C predicted mortality after the adjustment for baseline renal function, AKI, BNP levels and heart failure risk factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The role of co-morbidities in the prognosis of patients hospitalized for AHF was examined using the AHEAD ( A — atrial fibrillation, H — haemoglobin < 130 g/l for men and 120 g/l for women (anaemia), E — elderly (age > 70 years), A — abnormal renal parameters (creatinine > 130 μmol/l), D — diabetes mellitus) scoring system. Methods AHEAD — multicentre prospective Czech registry of AHF patients; GREAT registry — international cohort of AHF patients. Data from 5846 consecutive patients hospitalized for AHF (AHEAD registry; derivation cohort) were analysed to build the AHEAD score. Each risk factor of the AHEAD score was counted as 1 point. The model was validated externally using an international cohort of similar patients in the GREAT registry (6315). Results Main outcome was one year all-cause mortality. The mean age of patients was 72 ± 12 years, with 61.6% of patients aged > 70 years; 43.4% were women. Atrial fibrillation was present in 30.7%, anaemia in 38.2%, creatinine > 130 mmol/l (abnormal renal parameters) in 30.1%, and diabetes mellitus in 44.0%. The mean AHEAD score was 2.1. In patients with AHEAD scores of 0–5, the one-year mortality rates were 13.6%, 23.4%, 32.0%, 41.1%, 47.7%, and 58.2%, respectively (p < 0.001), and the 90 month mortality rates were 35.1%, 57.3%, 73.5%, 84.8%, 88.0%, and 91.7%, respectively (p < 0.001). Conclusion The AHEAD is a simple scoring system based on the analysis of co-morbidities for the estimation of the short and long term prognosis of patients hospitalized for AHF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]