Effects of furosemide versus captopril on postprandial and orthostatic blood pressure and on cerebral oxygenation in patients > or = 70 years of age with heart failure

Prognostic value of postural hypotension in hospitalized patients with heart failure

Although postural hypotension (PH) is reportedly associated with mortality in the general population, the prognostic value for heart failure is unclear. This was a post-hoc analysis of FRAGILE-HF, a prospective multicenter observational study focusing on frailty in elderly patients with heart failure. Overall, 730 patients aged ≥ 65 years who were hospitalized with heart failure were enrolled. PH was defined by evaluating seated PH, and was defined as a fall of ≥ 20 mmHg in systolic and/or ≥ 10 mmHg in diastolic blood pressure within 3 min after transition from a supine to sitting position. The study endpoints were all-cause death and heart failure readmission at 1 year. Predictive variables for the presence of PH were also evaluated. PH was observed in 160 patients (21.9%). Patients with PH were more likely than those without PH to be male with a New York Heart Association classification of III/IV. Logistic regression analysis showed that male sex, severe heart failure symptoms, and lack of administration of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors were independently associated with PH. PH was not associated with 1-year mortality, but was associated with a lower incidence of readmission after discharge after adjustment for other covariates. In conclusion, PH was associated with reduced risk of heart failure readmission but not with 1-year mortality in older patients with heart failure.

Addressing Orthostatic Hypotension in Heart Failure: Pathophysiology, Clinical Implications and Perspectives

Heart failure (HF)is a condition at high risk for orthostatic hypotension (OH)given the large proportion of patients at an advanced age and high burden of comorbidities contributing to OH, as well as a high prevalence of medications with neurovascular and volume modulating properties. Early identification of OH in HF seems to be crucial as OH can have an impact on patient symptoms, activity level and independence, be a marker of specific pathophysiological changes or be an indicator of need for personalized treatment. OH might contribute significantly to bad enough prognosis in HF, as, besides a risk of falls and cognitive decline, it was found to be associated with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. In this review, we aimed to incentivize the routine use of orthostatic testing in HF, as well as stimulate future research in this field, which could lead to significant advances in the treatment and outcomes.

Hypertension in older adults: Assessment, management, and challenges

Hypertension in older adults is related to adverse cardiovascular outcomes, such as heart failure, stroke, myocardial infarction, and death. The global burden of hypertension is increasing due to an aging population and increasing prevalence of obesity, and is estimated to affect one third of the world's population by 2025. Adverse outcomes in older adults are compounded by mechanical hemodynamic changes, arterial stiffness, neurohormonal and autonomic dysregulation, and declining renal function. This review highlights the current evidence and summarizes recent guidelines on hypertension, pertaining to older adults. Management strategies for hypertension in older adults must consider the degree of frailty, increasingly complex medical comorbidities, and psycho-social factors, and must therefore be individualized. Non-pharmacological lifestyle interventions should be encouraged to mitigate the risk of developing hypertension, and as an adjunctive therapy to reduce the need for medications. Pharmacological therapy with diuretics, renin-angiotensin system blockers, and calcium channel blockers have all shown benefit on cardiovascular outcomes in older patients. Given the economic and public health burden of hypertension in the United States and globally, it is critical to address lifestyle modifications in younger generations to prevent hypertension with age.

Diuretic window hypothesis in cirrhosis: Changing the point of view

Since the 1970s, non-selective beta-blockers (NSBB) have been used to prevent variceal upper bleeding in advanced cirrhotic patients. However, several recent studies have raised the doubt about the benefit of NSBB in end-stage cirrhotic patients. In fact, they suggested a detrimental effect in these patients that even reduced survival. All of these studies have been assembled to compose the “window therapy hypothesis”, in which NSBB would have traditional indication to be initiated to prevent variceal upper bleeding; however, treatment should be stopped (or not be initiated) in patients with end-stage cirrhosis. NSBB would reduce the cardiac reserve of these patients, worsening systemic perfusion and prognosis. However, it should be emphasized that these studies present important bias issues, and their results also suggested that diuretic treatment may also be behind the effects observed. In this opinion review, we changed the point of view from NSBB to diuretic treatment, based on a physiopathogenic approach of circulatory parameters of cirrhotic patients studied, and based on diuretic effect in blood pressure lowering and in other hypervolemic disease, as heart failure. We suggest a “diuretic window hypothesis”, composed by an open window in hypervolemic phase, an attention window when patient present in a normal plasma volume phase, and a closed window during the plasma hypovolemic phase.

Recommendations to prescribe in complex older adults: results of the CRIteria to assess appropriate Medication use among Elderly complex patients (CRIME) project

The occurrence of several geriatric conditions may influence the efficacy and limit the use of drugs prescribed to treat chronic conditions. Functional and cognitive impairment, geriatric syndromes (i.e. falls or malnutrition) and limited life expectancy are common features of old age, which may limit the efficacy of pharmacological treatments and question the appropriateness of treatment. However, the assessment of these geriatric conditions is rarely incorporated into clinical trials and treatment guidelines. The CRIME (CRIteria to assess appropriate Medication use among Elderly complex patients) project is aimed at producing recommendations to guide pharmacologic prescription in older complex patients with a limited life expectancy, functional and cognitive impairment, and geriatric syndromes, and providing physicians with a tool to improve the quality of prescribing, independent of setting and nationality. To achieve these aims, we performed the following: (i) Existing disease-specific guidelines on pharmacological prescription for the treatment of diabetes, hypertension, congestive heart failure, atrial fibrillation and coronary heart disease were reviewed to assess whether they include specific indications for complex patients; (ii) a literature search was performed to identify relevant articles assessing the pharmacological treatment of complex patients; (iii) A total of 19 new recommendations were developed based on the results of the literature search and expert consensus. In conclusion, the new recommendations evaluate the appropriateness of pharmacological prescription in older complex patients, translating the recommendations of clinical guidelines to patients with a limited life expectancy, functional and cognitive impairment, and geriatric syndromes. These recommendations cannot represent substitutes for careful clinical consideration and deliberation by physicians; the recommendations are not meant to replace existing clinical guidelines, but they may be used to help physicians in the prescribing process.

Postprandial hypotension: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

Postprandial hypotension (PPH) is an important clinical problem, which has received inappropriately little attention.

METHODS

A systematic search of the databases PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Knowledge, from their inception to the present time, was conducted to identify studies relevant to the epidemiology, pathophysiology, and/or management of PPH.

RESULTS

A total of 417 full-text papers were retrieved from database searching and, following screening, 248 were retained. Of these, 167 papers were considered eligible for inclusion.

CONCLUSIONS

PPH occurs commonly in older people and represents a major cause of morbidity. Although the pathophysiology of PPH remains poorly defined, diverse factors, including impairments in sympathetic and baroreflex function, release of vasodilatory peptides, the rate of small intestinal nutrient delivery, gastric distension, and splanchnic blood pooling, appear important. Current pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic management is suboptimal. Research into the pathophysiology of PPH represents a priority so that management can be targeted more effectively.

Postprandial hypotension

Postprandial hypotension is both common in geriatric patients and an important but under-recognized cause of syncope. Other populations at risk include those with Parkinson disease and autonomic failure. The mechanism is not clearly understood, but appears to be secondary to a blunted sympathetic response to a meal. This review discusses the epidemiology, risk factors, and pathophysiology of postprandial hypotension in the elderly, as well as diagnosis and treatment strategies. Diagnosis can be made based on ambulatory blood pressure monitoring and patient symptoms. Lifestyle modifications such as increased water intake before eating or substituting 6 smaller meals daily for 3 larger meals may be effective treatment options. However, data from randomized, controlled trials are limited. Increased awareness of this disease may lead to improved quality of life, decreased falls and injuries, and the avoidance of unnecessary testing.

Risk factors for vascular dementia: hypotension as a key point

Physiologically, the cerebral autoregulation system allows maintenance of constant cerebral blood flow over a wide range of blood pressure. In old people, there is a progressive reshape of cerebral autoregulation from a sigmoid curve to a straight line. This implies that any abrupt change in blood pressure will result in a rapid and significant change in cerebral blood flow. Hypertension has often been observed to be a risk factor for vascular dementia (VaD) and sometimes for Alzheimer disease although not always. Indeed, high blood pressure may accelerate cerebral white matter lesions, but white matter lesions have been found to be facilitated by excessive fall in blood pressure, including orthostatic dysregulation and postprandial hypotension. Many recent studies observed among other data, that there was a correlation between systolic pressure reduction and cognitive decline in women, which was not accounted for by other factors. Baseline blood pressure level was not significantly related to cognitive decline with initial good cognition. Some researchers speculate that blood pressure reduction might be an early change of the dementing process. The most confounding factor is that low pressure by itself might be a predictor of death; nevertheless, the effect of low blood pressure on cognition is underestimated because of a survival bias. Another explanation is that clinically unrecognized vascular lesions in the brain or atherosclerosis are responsible for both cognitive decline and blood pressure reduction. We discuss the entire process, and try to define a possible mechanism that is able to explain the dynamic by which hypotension might be related to dementia.

Low systolic blood pressure is associated with impaired cognitive function in the oldest old: longitudinal observations in a population-based sample 80 years and older

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

The primary aim of the present study was to examine whether there is an association between blood pressure and the risk of subsequent cognitive decline in the oldest old. Various factors associated with blood pressure and cognitive function were considered.

METHODS

The study comprised 599 individuals of a population-based sample, 199 men (mean age at baseline 82.8 years, range 80-95) and 400 women (mean age at baseline 83.3 years, range 80-100). Cognitive function was evaluated by the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). For a subgroup of 385 subjects (130 men, 255 women), data were available on blood pressure and MMSE at baseline and two followups at two-year intervals. Baseline blood pressure was studied in one group with reduced cognition and in another group with intact cognition across the following four years. The association of systolic blood pressure (SBP) with the MMSE score through the follow-up period was analysed controlling for frailty (time to death), age, gender, apoprotein E, homocysteine, hypertension, congestive heart failure, and stroke.

RESULTS

A medical history of arterial hypertension was associated with lower MMSE scores and a higher prevalence of dementia and cognitive decline at baseline. However, intact cognition through the observation period was associated with higher baseline SBP. This relationship also remained when the frailty of aging subjects, indicated by remaining time to death, was taken into account.

CONCLUSIONS

Lower SBP in the oldest old is associated with an increased risk of cognitive impairment even after adjustment for compromised vitality. In late life, the risk of cognitive decline needs to be considered in clinical practice.

High Prevalence of Postprandial and Orthostatic Hypotension Among Geriatric Patients Admitted to Dutch Hospitals

BACKGROUND

Previous studies have indicated that postprandial hypotension (PPH) and orthostatic hypotension (OH) occur infrequently together. As data on geriatric patients in hospitals are scarce, we investigated the prevalence of PPH and OH and their combined occurrence. Our study sample included patients admitted to two geriatric departments in Dutch hospitals.

METHODS

During 9 months, hemodynamic changes were measured with Spacelab 90207 after standing and after meals in all eligible patients. PPH is defined as a meal-related decline in systolic blood pressure (SBP) > or =20 mmHg, OH after standing up.

RESULTS

Eighty-five patients (44 men), mean age 80 +/- 7 years (range 60-98 years), with 4 +/- 2 diseases and 6 +/- 3 prescriptions, were included. PPH was present in 57 patients (67%) with a significant postmeal SBP decrease of 34 +/- 4 mmHg. OH was present in 44 patients (52%) with a mean SBP decline of 44 +/- 4 mmHg after standing. Thirty-two patients (37%) had OH and PPH. Only 16 patients (19%) had neither OH nor PPH. Symptoms of PPH were present in 65% of patients, with syncope (in five patients) and sleepiness as the most common symptoms. OH was symptomatic in 61% of patients, with dizziness and risk for falls as the most common symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

PPH and OH are more common in geriatric patients than was previously appreciated, with a high statistical probability that OH and PPH occur simultaneously. There is little overlap in symptoms of OH (dizziness, fall risk) versus PPH (sleepiness, syncope), which can play an important role in diagnosis. Because of the high prevalence of symptomatic PPH and OH, blood pressure measurements for diagnosing hypotensive syndromes should be part of a comprehensive geriatric assessment.

[Features of the treatment of heart failure in the elderly]

PHARMACOLOGICAL MODIFICATIONS TO BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT: In elderly patients, there is a modification in the distribution columns of drugs, an alteration in glomerular filtration (doses require adaptation) and tubular function (greater sensitivity to low salt diet and diuretics), and a reduction in the hepatic elimination capacity. FOR SYSTOLIC HEART FAILURE: The choice of drugs is in practice the same as that for younger patients: diuretics, antialdosterone agents, converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor antagonists, beta-blockers and digitalics. FOR DIASTOLIC HEART FAILURE: The therapeutic approach combines an etiologic treatment (blood pressure, myocardial ischaemia), prevention and the rapid treatment of the decompensation factors (atrial arrhythmia), a pharmacological treatment (converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor antagonists, and bradycardia lowering agents). Non-pharmacological measures include dietary restrictions, regular physical exercise, and education for the patient and the family.