Congenital heart disease-associated pulmonary arterial hypertension: preliminary results from a novel registry

Analysis of the Global Disease Burden of Down Syndrome Using YLDs, YLLs, and DALYs Based on the Global Burden of Disease 2019 Data

PURPOSE

This study aimed to determine Down syndrome (DS) burden using years lived with disability (YLDs), years of life lost (YLLs), disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), and the trends in these parameters.

METHODS

We obtained the annual YLDs, YLLs, DALYs, and age-standardized rates (ASRs) of DS from 2010 to 2019 using the Global Health Data Exchange tool. The estimated annual percentage changes (EAPCs) in ASR were used to quantify and evaluate DS burden trends. Gaussian-process regression and Pearson's correlation coefficient were used to assess the relationship between DS burden and socio-demographic index (SDI).

RESULTS

Global DALYs decreased by 2.68% from 2010 to 2019 but the ASR was stable, which was mostly explained by the stability in the ASR for YLLs. The ASR of YLDs showed an increasing trend (EAPC = 1.07, 95% CI = 0.45 to 1.69). There was notable regional imbalance, with most of the DALYs or ASRs in areas with relatively low SDI. The DALY rates of DS were mostly from the YLLs of children younger than 1 year. Lower SDI areas tended to have higher DS burdens (ρ = -0.3, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

This systematic analysis of the global disease burden of DS from 2010 to 2019 revealed that although the global DS DALY and YLL rate is stable, the YLD rate is increasing. And the DS burden varies significantly differences among regions or countries. The present results suggest that future strategies should focus on DS-related deaths in children younger than 1 year and the DS burden in low-SDI regions or countries, since this may be effective in further reducing DS burden.

Congenital Heart Disease-Associated Pulmonary Hypertension

Presently, with increasing survival of patients with congenital heart disease (CHD), pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) associated with CHD is commonly encountered in children and adults. This increased prevalence is seen despite significant advances in early diagnosis and surgical correction of patients with structural CHD. PAH is the cause of significant morbidity and mortality in these patients and comes in many forms. With the increased availability of targeted therapies for PAH, there is hope for improved hemodynamics, exercise capacity, quality of life, and possibly survival for these patients. There may also be opportunities for combined medical and interventional/surgical approaches for some.

Congenital heart disease with pulmonary artery hypertension in an Asian cohort-initial report from TACHYON (TAiwan congenital heart disease associated with pulmonarY arterial hypertension) registry

BACKGROUND

Prospective registry studies of congenital heart disease (CHD)-associated pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH) are rare. We established a multicenter registry of CHD-PAH: the TACHYON (TAiwan Congenital Heart disease associated with pulmonarY arterial hypertension) registry.

METHODS

The prospective TACHYON registry was initiated in January 2016. Nine pediatric cardiology centers with 99 patients were included. Using this database, we evaluated clinical characteristics and outcomes.

RESULTS

Twelve patients with incomplete data were excluded. For the remaining 87 patients, mean age of enrollment was 37.4(SD 18.2) years, and the male to female ratio was 60:27. PAH after defect closure accounted for 46 (52.9%) and Eisenmenger syndrome for 30 (34.5%) cases. Atrial septal defect was the most common (48.3%) disease, followed by ventricular septal defect. Mean pulmonary artery pressure was 56.7 (SD 19.4) mmHg. PAH-targeted therapy was used in 95.4% of patients. Sildenafil and bosentan were the most common drugs. After mean 23.9 months of follow-up, the 2-year Kaplan-Meier survival rate was 93.2%. According to univariate Cox regression analysis, significant risk factors included right heart failure signs, symptom progression, high-risk baseline N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (BNP)/BNP, high-risk baseline 6-min walking distance (6MWD), and high baseline hemoglobin/hematocrit level. Using the three noninvasive parameters (functional class, 6MWD, NT-pro BNP/BNP) proposed by the European Society of Cardiology, the total number of high-risk criteria predicted survival rate reliably.

CONCLUSIONS

Using the TACHYON registry is feasible, but the physicians' adherences to guidelines are unsatisfactory. Midterm outcomes of PAH-target therapy are favorable and predictable using noninvasive parameters.

Hoeper M, Hofbeck M, Hohenfrost-Schmidt W, Jurevičienė E, Gumbienè L, Kabitz HJ, Klose H, Köhler T, Konstantinides S, Köestenberger M, Kozlik-Feldmann R, Kramer HH, Kropf-Sanchen C, Lammers A, Lange T, Meyn P, Miera O, Milger-Kneidinger K, Neidenbach R, Neurohr C, Opitz C, Perings C, Remppis BA, Riemekasten G, Scelsi L, Scholtz W, Simkova I, Skowasch D, Skride A, Stähler G, Stiller B, Tsangaris I, Vizza CD, Vonk Noordegraaf A, Wilkens H, Wirtz H, Diller GP, Grünig E, Rosenkranz S. Pulmonary Hypertension in Adults with Congenital Heart Disease: Real-World Data from the International COMPERA-CHD Registry

INTRODUCTION

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a common complication in patients with congenital heart disease (CHD), aggravating the natural, post-operative, or post-interventional course of the underlying anomaly. The various CHDs differ substantially in characteristics, functionality, and clinical outcomes among each other and compared with other diseases with pulmonary hypertension.

OBJECTIVE

To describe current management strategies and outcomes for adults with PH in relation to different types of CHD based on real-world data.

METHODS AND RESULTS

COMPERA (Comparative, Prospective Registry of Newly Initiated Therapies for Pulmonary Hypertension) is a prospective, international PH registry comprising, at the time of data analysis, >8200 patients with various forms of PH. Here, we analyzed a subgroup of 680 patients with PH due to CHD, who were included between 2007 and 2018 in 49 specialized centers for PH and/or CHD located in 11 European countries. At enrollment, the patients´ median age was 44 years (67% female), and patients had either pre-tricuspid shunts, post-tricuspid shunts, complex CHD, congenital left heart or aortic disease, or miscellaneous other types of CHD. Upon inclusion, targeted therapies for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) included endothelin receptor antagonists, PDE-5 inhibitors, prostacyclin analogues, and soluble guanylate cyclase stimulators. Eighty patients with Eisenmenger syndrome were treatment-naïve. While at inclusion the primary PAH treatment for the cohort was monotherapy (70% of patients), with 30% of the patients on combination therapy, after a median observation time of 45.3 months, the number of patients on combination therapy had increased significantly, to 50%. The use of oral anticoagulants or antiplatelets was dependent on the underlying diagnosis or comorbidities. In the entire COMPERA-CHD cohort, after follow-up and receiving targeted PAH therapy (n = 511), 91 patients died over the course of a 5-year follow up. The 5-year Kaplan-Meier survival estimate for CHD associated PH was significantly better than that for idiopathic PAH (76% vs. 54%; p < 0.001). Within the CHD associated PH group, survival estimates differed particularly depending on the underlying diagnosis and treatment status.

CONCLUSIONS

In COMPERA-CHD, the overall survival of patients with CHD associated PH was dependent on the underlying diagnosis and treatment status, but was significantly better as than that for idiopathic PAH. Nevertheless, overall survival of patients with PAH due to CHD was still markedly reduced compared with survival of patients with other types of CHD, despite an increasing number of patients on PAH-targeted combination therapy.

The COngenital HeARt Disease in adult and Pulmonary Hypertension (COHARD-PH) registry: a descriptive study from single-center hospital registry of adult congenital heart disease and pulmonary hypertension in Indonesia

BACKGROUNDS

The COngenital HeARt Disease in adult and Pulmonary Hypertension (COHARD-PH) registry is the first registry for congenital heart disease (CHD) and CHD-related pulmonary hypertension (PH) in adults in Indonesia. The study aims to describe the demographics, clinical presentation, and hemodynamics data of adult CHD and CHD-related PH in Indonesia.

METHODS

The COHARD-PH registry is a hospital-based, single-center, and prospective registry which includes adult patients with CHD and CHD-related PH. The patients were enrolled consecutively. For this study, we evaluated the registry patients from July 2012 until July 2019. The enrolled patients underwent clinical examination, electrocardiography, chest x-ray, 6-min walking test, laboratory measurement, and transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography. Right heart catheterization was performed to measure hemodynamics and confirm the diagnosis of pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH).

RESULTS

We registered 1012 patients during the study. The majority were young, adult females. The majority of CHD was secundum ASD (73.4%). The main symptom was dyspnea on effort. The majority of patients (77.1%) had already developed signs of PH assessed by echocardiography. The Eisenmenger syndrome was encountered in 18.7% of the patients. Based on the right heart catheterization, 66.9% of patients had developed PAH. Patients with PAH were significantly older, had lower peripheral oxygen saturation, had lower 6-min walking distance, and higher NTproBNP. The NTproBNP level independently predicted the development of PAH among CHD.

CONCLUSIONS

The COHARD-PH registry is the first Indonesian adult-CHD and CHD-related PH registry. The demographics, clinical presentation, and hemodynamics dataof this registry reflect the situation in developing countries which needs to be compared with similar registries from developed countries.

Biomechanical Forces and Oxidative Stress: Implications for Pulmonary Vascular Disease

Significance: Oxidative stress in the cell is characterized by excessive generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Superoxide (O₂^-) and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) are the main ROS involved in the regulation of cellular metabolism. As our fundamental understanding of the underlying causes of lung disease has increased it has become evident that oxidative stress plays a critical role. Recent Advances: A number of cells in the lung both produce, and respond to, ROS. These include vascular endothelial and smooth muscle cells, fibroblasts, and epithelial cells as well as the cells involved in the inflammatory response, including macrophages, neutrophils, eosinophils. The redox system is involved in multiple aspects of cell metabolism and cell homeostasis. Critical Issues: Dysregulation of the cellular redox system has consequential effects on cell signaling pathways that are intimately involved in disease progression. The lung is exposed to biomechanical forces (fluid shear stress, cyclic stretch, and pressure) due to the passage of blood through the pulmonary vessels and the distension of the lungs during the breathing cycle. Cells within the lung respond to these forces by activating signal transduction pathways that alter their redox state with both physiologic and pathologic consequences. Future Directions: Here, we will discuss the intimate relationship between biomechanical forces and redox signaling and its role in the development of pulmonary disease. An understanding of the molecular mechanisms induced by biomechanical forces in the pulmonary vasculature is necessary for the development of new therapeutic strategies.

Pulmonary vasodilator therapy is associated with greater survival in Eisenmenger syndrome

OBJECTIVE

Eisenmenger syndrome (ES) is a severe form of pulmonary hypertension in adults with congenital heart disease (CHD) and has a poor prognosis. We aimed to understand factors associated with survival in ES and particularly to assess the potential benefits of advanced pulmonary vasodilator therapy (AT).

METHODS

From January 2004, when AT became generally available for patients with ES, we followed 253 ES adults from 12 adult congenital heart disease centres across Australia and New Zealand. Demographic, medical and outcome data were collected and analysed prospectively and retrospectively.

RESULTS

The patients with ES were predominantly female (60%), aged 31 (SD 12) years. At diagnosis of ES, 64% were WHO functional class ≥3. The most common underlying lesion was ventricular septal defect (33%) with 21% having 'complex' anatomy. Over a median follow-up time of 9.1 years, the majority (72%) had been prescribed at least one AT (49% single agent), mostly bosentan (66%, 168 patients). The mean time on AT was 6 (SD 3.6) years. Those on AT were more functionally impaired at presentation (69% WHO ≥3 vs 51%, p=0.007) and more likely to have been prescribed anticoagulation (47% vs 27%, p=0.003). The risk of death/transplant was 4.8 %/year in AT exposed versus 8.4% in those never exposed. On multivariable analysis, exposure to AT was independently associated with greater survival (survival HR 2.27, 95% CI 1.49 to 3.45; p<0.001). WHO ≥3 at presentation was associated with a worse prognosis (mortality HR 1.82, 95% CI 1.19 to 2.78; p=0.006).

CONCLUSION

Treatment with AT was independently associated with greater survival in patients with ES, even though they were comparatively sicker prior to treatment.

Serum endostatin is a genetically determined predictor of survival in pulmonary arterial hypertension

RATIONALE

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a medically incurable disease resulting in death from right ventricular (RV) failure. Both pulmonary vascular and RV remodeling are linked to dynamic changes in the microvasculature. Therefore, we hypothesized that circulating angiostatic factors could be linked to outcomes and represent novel biomarkers of disease severity in PAH.

OBJECTIVES

We sought to determine the relationship of a potent angiostatic factor, endostatin (ES), with disease severity and mortality in PAH. Furthermore, we assessed genetic predictors of ES expression and/or function and their association with outcomes in PAH.

METHODS

We measured levels of serum ES in two independent cohorts of patients with PAH. Contemporaneous clinical data included New York Heart Association functional class, 6-minute-walk distance, invasive hemodynamics, and laboratory chemistries.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

Serum ES correlated with poor functional status, decreased exercise tolerance, and invasive hemodynamics variables. Furthermore, serum ES was a strong predictor of mortality. A loss-of-function, missense variant in the gene encoding ES, Col18a1, was linked to lower circulating protein and was independently associated with reduced mortality.

CONCLUSIONS

Our data link increased expression of ES to disease severity in PAH and demonstrate a significant relationship with adverse outcomes. Circulating ES levels can be genetically influenced, implicating ES as a genetically determined modifier of disease severity impacting on survival. These observations support serum ES as a potential biomarker in PAH with the capacity to predict poor outcomes. More importantly, this study implicates Col18a1/ES as a potential new therapeutic target in PAH.

Contemporary prevalence of pulmonary arterial hypertension in adult congenital heart disease following the updated clinical classification

BACKGROUND

The aging congenital heart disease (CHD) population is prone to develop a variety of sequelae, including pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Previous prevalence estimates are limited in applicability due to the use of tertiary centers, or database encoding only. We aimed to investigate the contemporary prevalence of PAH in adult CHD patients, using a nationwide population.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was performed, using the population-based Dutch CONgenital CORvitia (CONCOR) registry. All patients born with a systemic-to-pulmonary shunt, thereby at risk of developing PAH, were identified. From this cohort, a random sample was obtained and carefully reviewed.

RESULTS

Of 12,624 registered adults with CHD alive in 2011, 5,487 (44%) were at risk of PAH. The random sample consisted of 1,814 patients (mean age 40 ± 15 years) and 135 PAH cases were observed. PAH prevalence in patients born with a systemic-to-pulmonary shunt was 7.4%. The prevalence of PAH after corrective cardiac surgery was remarkably high (5.7%). Furthermore, PAH prevalence increased with age, from 2.5% under 30 years until 35% in the eldest. PAH prevalence in the entire CHD population was 3.2%. Based on 3000 per million adult CHD patients in the general population, we can assume that PAH-CHD is present in 100 per million.

CONCLUSIONS

This new approach using a nationwide CHD population reports a PAH prevalence of 3.2% in CHD patients, and 100 per million in the general adult population. Especially in patients after shunt closure and the elderly, physicians should be aware of PAH-CHD, to provide optimal therapeutic and clinical care.

Combined heart-lung transplantation: a perspective on the past and the future

During the last 20 years, there has been a shift away from combined heart-lung transplantation (HLT) in favor of bilateral lung transplantation. This paradigm shift allowed for the donor heart to be transplanted to another patient. However, HLT remains to be the definitive surgical treatment for certain congenital heart disorders and Eisenmenger's syndrome. With a growing population of adult patients with congenital heart disease, there remains a need for HLT. This article provides a perspective on the past and the future of HLT.