Child ego state and self-care behavior change in heart failure patients

BACKGROUND

The psychological characteristics of ego functions interfere with self-care behavior in several diseases. However, the effect of ego functions on self-care behavior after education in heart failure (HF) remains unclear.

METHODS

Seventy-one HF patients were enrolled. Patients' scores on the Japanese version of the European Heart Failure Self-care Behaviour Scale (EHFScBS) were measured before and after the HF intervention, and the rate of change was used as an indicator of educational effectiveness. The Tokyo University Egogram New Ver. II was used to assess five types of ego state functions: Critical parent, Nurturing parent, Adult, Free Child, and Adapted Child (AC).

RESULTS

A comparison of the five ego states showed that AC scores were significantly lower than those of the other ego states (p < 0.01). Total EHFScBS scores significantly decreased from 33 (26-39) to 16 (14-20) (p < 0.01) after the HF education, and the median rates of change in EHFScBS was -46.2%. Patients with a lower rate of change in EHFScBS were more likely to have low AC scores, as characterized by a lack of compliance and coordination, and were less likely to receive higher education (all p < 0.05). Even after adjustment for covariates, low AC scores were independently associated with low rate of change in EHFScBS (p < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

Educational behavior change for self-care is less effective in HF patients with an ego state with low AC.

Comparison of Cortical Autonomic Network-Linked Sympathetic Excitation by Mueller Maneuvers and Breath-Holds in Subjects With and Without Obstructive Sleep Apnea

In healthy young volunteers, acquisition of blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) magnetic resonance (MR) and muscle sympathetic nerve (MSNA) signals during simulation of obstructive or central sleep apnea identified cortical cardiovascular autonomic regions in which the BOLD signal changed synchronously with acute noradrenergic excitation. In the present work, we tested the hypothesis that such Mueller maneuvers (MM) and breath-holds (BH) would elicit greater concomitant changes in mean efferent nerve firing and BOLD signal intensity in patients with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) relative to age- and sex-matched individuals with no or only mild OSA (Apnea Hypopnea Index, AHI, <15 events/h). Forty-six participants, 24 with OSA [59 ± 8 years; AHI 31 ± 18 events/h (mean ± SD); seven women] and 22 without (58 ± 11 years; AHI 7 ± 4; nine women), performed a series of three MM and three BH, in randomly assigned order, twice: during continuous recording of MSNA from the right fibular nerve and, on a separate day, during T2^∗-weighted echo planar functional MR imaging. MSNA at rest was greater in those with OSA (65 ± 19 vs. 48 ± 17 bursts per 100 heart beats; p < 0.01). MM and BH elicited similar heart rate, blood pressure, and MSNA responses in the two cohorts; group mean BOLD data were concordant, detecting no between-group differences in cortical autonomic region signal activities. The present findings do not support the concept that recurring episodes of cyclical apnea during sleep alter cortical or peripheral neural responsiveness to their simulation during wakefulness by volitional Mueller maneuvers or breath-holds.

Early detachment of prosthetic aortic valve one year after replacement for severe aortic regurgitation due to perforated aortic valve aneurysm; a case of suspected HLA-B52 positive Behçet's disease

Herein, we report a case of 61-year-old male with congestive heart failure (HF) due to severe aortic regurgitation (AR) caused by ruptured aortic valve aneurysm (VA). Aortic valve replacement (AVR) was performed after improvement of HF symptoms. Pathological examination of resected aortic VA showed neutrophil infiltration. Although he did not have typical clinical features associated with infective endocarditis (IE) such as fever, leukocytosis, or positive blood culture, we misdiagnosed this case as "concealed IE". However, we reconsidered the etiology because prosthetic aortic valve detachment occurred only one year after AVR. When considering causes except IE for perforated aortic VA and early prosthetic valve detachment, Behçet's disease (BD) was more likely based on the clinical course, echocardiography, and pathological findings in this case. The inflammatory process of BD is associated with aortic valvulitis/aortitis, leading to a possible cause of aortic regurgitation due to aortic VA or early prosthetic valve detachment. The diagnosis of BD was challenging in this case because he did not have predominant clinical findings, including recurrent oral ulcer which is a mandatory criterion for the diagnosis by the International Study Group, however, cardiac involvement may have been the initial presentation of BD. <Leaning objective: Aortic valve aneurysm and its rupture are rare and most cases are caused by infective endocarditis (IE). However, if there is no typical clinical feature of IE including fever, leukocytosis, or positive blood culture in such case, Behçet's disease BD should be considered even if there are no predominant clinical findings including recurrent oral ulcer. Appropriate immunosuppressive therapy and modification of surgical techniques for the possible cardiac involvement may improve prognosis in patients with BD.>.

Blood Oxygen, Sleep Disordered Breathing, and Respiratory Instability in Patients With Chronic Heart Failure - PROST Subanalysis

Background: Respiratory stability index (RSI), a semi-quantitative measure of respiratory instability, was found to reflect congestive and other clinical status of acutely decompensated heart failure in the PROST study. Given that the association between RSI and another important factors affecting respiration, such as peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO₂), and the influence of oxygen inhalation on this association were undetermined, and that the association between common sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) parameters and RSI was unknown, we performed a subanalysis using PROST data.

Methods and Results: Correlation analyses were performed to evaluate the relationships between RSI, SpO₂, and other SDB parameters (3% oxygen desaturation index [3%ODI], respiratory disturbance index [RDI]) using Spearman’s rank correlation. RSI and overnight mean SpO₂ were not significantly correlated either after admission (n=38) or before discharge (n=36; r=0.27, P=0.10 and r=0.05, P=0.76, respectively). This correlation was also not affected by presence or absence of oxygen inhalation. 3%ODI, RDI and RSI were significantly and inversely correlated both after admission and before discharge.

Conclusions: RSI and blood oxygen level were not significantly correlated irrespective of oxygen inhalation, while the SDB parameters were significantly correlated, suggesting that RSI reflects lung congestion independently of blood oxygen concentration and, thus, can be a useful indicator of the non-invasive assessment of lung congestion.

Training heart failure patients with reduced ejection fraction attenuates muscle sympathetic nerve activation during mild dynamic exercise

Muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) decreases during low-intensity dynamic one-leg exercise in healthy subjects but increases in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). We hypothesized that increased peak oxygen uptake (V̇o_2peak) after aerobic training would be accompanied by less sympathoexcitation during both mild and moderate one-leg dynamic cycling, an attenuated muscle metaboreflex, and greater skin vasodilation. We studied 27 stable, treated HFrEF patients (6 women; mean age: 65 ± 2 SE yr; mean left ventricular ejection fraction: 30 ± 1%) and 18 healthy age-matched volunteers (6 women; mean age: 57 ± 2 yr). We assessed V̇o_2peak (open-circuit spirometry) and the skin microcirculatory response to reactive hyperemia (laser flowmetry). Fibular MSNA (microneurography) was recorded before and during one-leg cycling (2 min unloaded and 2 min at 50% of V̇o_2peak) and, to assess the muscle metaboreflex, during posthandgrip ischemia (PHGI). HFrEF patients were evaluated before and after 6 mo of exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation. Pretraining V̇o_2peak and skin vasodilatation were lower (P < 0.001) and resting MSNA higher (P = 0.01) in HFrEF than control subjects. Training improved V̇o_2peak (+3.0 ± 1.0 mL·kg^-1·min^-1; P < 0.001) and cutaneous vasodilation and diminished resting MSNA (-6.0 ± 2.0, P = 0.01) plus exercise MSNA during unloaded (-4.0 ± 2.5, P = 0.04) but not loaded cycling (-1.0 ± 4.0 bursts/min, P = 0.34) and MSNA during PHGI (P < 0.05). In HFrEF patients, exercise training lowers MSNA at rest, desensitizes the sympathoexcitatory metaboreflex, and diminishes MSNA elicited by mild but not moderate cycling. Training-induced downregulation of resting MSNA and attenuated reflex sympathetic excitation may improve exercise capacity and survival.

Heart Failure-Specific Relationship Between Muscle Sympathetic Nerve Activity and Aortic Wave Reflection

BACKGROUND

Reflected arterial waves contribute to left ventricular (LV) afterload. Heart failure patients with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) are afterload sensitive and sympathetically activated. We tested the hypothesis that HFrEF patients exhibit a positive relationship between sympathetic vasoconstrictor discharge and aortic wave reflection.

METHODS

Sixteen treated patients with HFrEF (61 ± 9 years of age, left ventricular ejection fraction 30 ± 7%, 3 women) and 16 similar-aged healthy control subjects (57 ± 7 years of age, 4 women) underwent noninvasive measurements of radial pulse waveforms (applanation tonometry) to calculate central blood pressures and aortic wave reflection characteristics: augmentation pressure (AP), augmentation index (AI_x), and AI_x corrected to a heart rate of 75 beats/min (AI_x@75). Muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) burst frequency was recorded from the fibular nerve (microneurography).

RESULTS

HFrEF patients had higher AI_x (26 ± 9 vs 17 ± 15%; P < .05) and MSNA burst frequency (48 ± 7 vs 39 ± 11 bursts/min; P < .05) and lower central diastolic pressure than control subjects (64 ± 8 vs 70 ± 9 mm Hg; P = 0.05). There were no between-group differences in heart rate, other measures of blood pressure (brachial and central; P > .05), AP (11 ± 5 vs 7 ± 8 mm Hg; P = 0.11), or AI_x@75 (19 ± 9 vs 13 ± 11%,-P = 0.14). MSNA correlated positively with AP (r = 0.50; P < .05), AI_x (r = 0.51; P < .05), and AI_x@75 (r = 0.54; P < .05) in HFrEF patients but not in control subjects (r = 0.002-0.18; P > 0.49).

CONCLUSIONS

In patients with HFrEF, but not similarly aged healthy subjects, indices of aortic wave reflection correlate positively with MSNA. By increasing LV afterload, such neurovascular coupling could impair LV performance and worsen heart failure symptoms. Therapies that attenuate neurogenic vasoconstriction may benefit HFrEF patients by diminishing arterial wave reflection.

Multicenter, Prospective Study on Respiratory Stability During Recovery From Deterioration of Chronic Heart Failure

BACKGROUND

The respiratory instability frequently observed in advanced heart failure (HF) is likely to mirror the clinical status of worsening HF. The present multicenter study was conducted to examine whether the noble respiratory stability index (RSI), a quantitative measure of respiratory instability, reflects the recovery process from HF decompensation. Methods and Results: Thirty-six of 44 patients hospitalized for worsening HF completed all-night measurements of RSI both at deterioration and recovery phases. Based on the signs, symptoms, and laboratory data during hospitalization, the Central Adjudication Committee identified 22 convalescent patients and 14 patients with less extent of recovery in a blinded manner without any information on RSI or other respiratory variables. The all-night RSI in the convalescent patients was increased from 27.8±18.4 to 34.6±15.8 (P<0.05). There was no significant improvement of RSI, however, in the remaining patients with little clinical improvement. Of the clinical and laboratory variables, on stepwise linear regression modeling, body weight, peripheral edema, and lung congestion were closely related to the RSI of recovered patients and accounted for 56% of the changes in RSI (coefficient of determination, R²=0.56).

CONCLUSIONS

All-night RSI, a quantitative measure of respiratory instability, could faithfully reflect congestive signs and clinical status of HF during the recovery process from acute decompensation.

Assessment of myocardial fibrosis using T1-mapping and extracellular volume measurement on cardiac magnetic resonance imaging for the diagnosis of radiation-induced cardiomyopathy

Radiation-induced heart disease (RIHD) is a serious side effect of thoracic radiation therapy (RT) and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Radiation-induced cardiomyopathy (RICM) is one of the manifestations of RIHD, which represents with left ventricular (LV) systolic and diastolic dysfunction due to myocardial fibrosis. Although the diagnosis of RIHD is challenging and is generally an exclusion diagnosis, multimodality imaging including echocardiography, cardiac computed tomography and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging could help the diagnosis. Herein, we report a case of 70-years-old male, who had been treated with chemo-radiation therapy for early esophageal cancer, was suffered from medically refractory heart failure due to severely reduced LV systolic function and constrictive pericarditis 8 years after chemo-radiation therapy. Although no gadolinium-enhancement (LGE) was detected on CMR, T1 mapping depicted increased extracellular matrix volumes of 45%, which suggested global myocardial fibrosis. Histopathological analysis by endomyocardial biopsy (EBM) revealed marked degeneration of myocytes and interstitial fibrosis, while vacuolation in myocytes which is characteristics of chemotherapy induced cardiomyopathy was not specific by electron microscopy. Therefore, we diagnosed that the present case was likely to the RICM. <Learning objective: RICM is characterized by inflammation followed by the development of a diffuse, patchy interstitial fibrosis of the myocardium, which is usually obtained either by EBM or at autopsy. Native and post-contrast T1-mapping by CMR enables to estimate extracellular volume (ECV), which is believed to be increased as a result of diffuse myocardial fibrosis. The assessment of myocardial fibrosis using ECV should be useful for early detection of myocardial damage due to RT, and which probably taking place of EBM.>.

Sex differences in surrogate decision-maker preferences for life-sustaining treatments of Japanese patients with heart failure

AIMS

Patients with end-stage heart failure (HF) often require surrogate decision making for end-of-life care owing to a lack of decision-making capacity. However, the clinical characteristics of surrogate decision making for life-sustaining treatments in Japan remain to be investigated.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Among 934 patients admitted to our hospital for HF from January 2004 to December 2015, we retrospectively reviewed the medical records of consecutive 106 patients who died in hospital (mean age 73 ± 13 years; male, 52.6%). During hospitalization, attending physicians conducted an average of 2.1 ± 1.4 end-of-life conversations with patients and/or their families. Only 4.7% of patients participated in the conversations and declared their preferences; surrogates made medical care decisions in 95.3% of cases. Most decisions by surrogates (98.1%) were made without the patient's advance directive. During initial end-of-life conversations, 49.4% of surrogates requested cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). However, 72.0% of CPR preferences were changed to do not attempt resuscitation (DNAR) orders in the final conversation. Female surrogates were more likely to change the preference from CPR to DNAR than were male surrogates (47.1% vs. 25.0%, P = 0.023).

CONCLUSIONS

Compared with male surrogates, female surrogates wavered more often in their decisions regarding life-sustaining treatments of Japanese patients with end-stage HF.

Microneurographic characterization of sympathetic responses during 1-leg exercise in young and middle-aged humans

Muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) at rest increases with age. However, the influence of age on MSNA recorded during dynamic leg exercise is unknown. We tested the hypothesis that aging attenuates the sympatho-inhibitory response observed in young subjects performing mild to moderate 1-leg cycling. After predetermining peak oxygen uptake, we compared contra-lateral fibular nerve MSNA during 2 min each of mild (unloaded) and moderate (30%-40% of the work rate at peak oxygen uptake, halved for single leg) 1-leg cycling in 18 young (age, 23 ± 1 years (mean ± SE)) and 18 middle-aged (age, 57 ± 2 years) sex-matched healthy subjects. Mean height, weight, resting heart rate, systolic blood pressure, and percent predicted peak oxygen uptake were similar between groups. Middle-aged subjects had higher resting MSNA burst frequency and incidence (P < 0.001) and diastolic blood pressure (P = 0.04). During moderate 1-leg cycling, older subjects' systolic blood pressure increased more (+21 ± 5 vs. +10 ± 1 mm Hg; P = 0.02) and their fall in MSNA burst incidence was amplified (-19 ± 2 vs. -11 ± 2 bursts/100 heart beats; P = 0.01) but because heart rate rose less (+15 ± 3 vs. +19 ± 2 bpm; P = 0.03), exercise induced similar reductions in burst frequency (P = 0.25). Contrary to our initial hypothesis, with advancing age, mild- to moderate-intensity dynamic leg exercise elicits a greater rise in systolic blood pressure and a larger fall in MSNA.

Cortical autonomic network gray matter and sympathetic nerve activity in obstructive sleep apnea

The sympathetic excitation elicited acutely by obstructive apnea during sleep (OSA) carries over into wakefulness. We hypothesized that OSA induces structural changes in the insula and cingulate, key central autonomic network elements with projections to brainstem sympathetic premotor regions. The aims of this study were to (1) apply two distinct but complementary methods (cortical thickness analysis [CTA] and voxel-based morphometry [VBM]) to compare insula and cingulate gray matter thickness in participants without and with OSA; (2) determine whether oxygen desaturation index (ODI) relates to cortical thickness; and (3) determine whether cortical thickness or volume in these regions predicts muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) burst incidence (BI). Overnight polysomnography, anatomical magnetic resonance imaging, and MSNA data were acquired in 41 participants with no or mild OSA (n = 19; 59 ± 2 years [Mean ± SE]; six females; apnea-hypopnea index [AHI] 7 ± 1 events per hour) or moderate-to-severe OSA (n = 22; 59 ± 2 years; five females; AHI 31 ± 4 events per hour). Between-group CTA analyses identified cortical thinning within the left dorsal posterior insula and thickening within the left mid-cingulate cortex (LMCC), whereas VBM identified thickening within bilateral thalami (all [p < .05]). CTA revealed inverse relationships between ODI and bilateral dpIC and left posterior cingulate cortex (LPCC) or precuneus thickness. Positive correlations between BI and LMCC gray matter thickness or volume were evident with both methods and between BI and left posterior thalamus volume using VBM. In OSA, the magnitude of insular thinning, although a function of hypoxia severity, does not influence MSNA, whereas cingulate and thalamic thickening relate directly to the intensity of sympathetic discharge during wakefulness.

Sleep-Disordered Breathing in Heart Failure - A Therapeutic Dilemma

Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) occurs in approximately 50% of patients with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction receiving contemporary heart failure (HF) therapies. Obstructive (OSA) and central sleep apneas (CSA) interrupt breathing by different mechanisms but impose qualitatively similar autonomic, chemical, mechanical, and inflammatory burdens on the heart and circulation. Because contemporary evidence-based drug and device HF therapies have little or no mitigating effect on the acute or long-term consequences of such stimuli, there is a sound mechanistic rationale for targeting SDB to reduce cardiovascular event rates and prolong life. However, the promise of observational studies and randomized trials of small size and duration describing a beneficial effect of treating SDB in HF via positive airway pressure was not realized in 2 recent randomized outcome-driven trials: SAVE, which evaluated the cardiovascular effect of treating OSA in a cohort without HF, and SERVE-HF, which reported the results of a strategy of random allocation of minute-ventilation-triggered adaptive servo-ventilation (ASV) for HF patients with CSA. Whether effective treatment of either OSA or CSA improves the HF trajectory by reducing cardiovascular morbidity or mortality has yet to be definitively established. ADVENT-HF, designed to determine the effect of treating both CSA and non-sleepy OSA HF patients with a peak-airflow triggered ASV algorithm, could resolve this present clinical equipoise concerning the treatment of SDB.

Arousal From Sleep and Sympathetic Excitation During Wakefulness

Obstructive apnea during sleep elevates the set point for efferent sympathetic outflow during wakefulness. Such resetting is attributed to hypoxia-induced upregulation of peripheral chemoreceptor and brain stem sympathetic function. Whether recurrent arousal from sleep also influences daytime muscle sympathetic nerve activity is unknown. We therefore tested, in a cohort of 48 primarily nonsleepy, middle-aged, male (30) and female (18) volunteers (age: 59±1 years, mean±SE), the hypothesis that the frequency of arousals from sleep (arousal index) would relate to daytime muscle sympathetic burst incidence, independently of the frequency of apnea or its severity. Polysomnography identified 24 as having either no or mild obstructive sleep apnea (apnea–hypopnea index <15 events/h) and 24 with moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea (apnea–hypopnea index >15 events/h). Burst incidence correlated significantly with arousal index ( r =0.53; P <0.001), minimum oxygen saturation ( r =−0.43; P =0.002), apnea–hypopnea index ( r =0.41; P =0.004), age ( r =0.36; P =0.013), and body mass index ( r =0.33; P =0.022) but not with oxygen desaturation index ( r =0.28; P =0.056). Arousal index was the single strongest predictor of muscle sympathetic nerve activity burst incidence, present in all best subsets regression models. The model with the highest adjusted R 2 (0.456) incorporated arousal index, minimum oxygen saturation, age, body mass index, and oxygen desaturation index but not apnea–hypopnea index. An apnea- and hypoxia-independent effect of sleep fragmentation on sympathetic discharge during wakefulness could contribute to intersubject variability, age-related increases in muscle sympathetic nerve activity, associations between sleep deprivation and insulin resistance or insomnia and future cardiovascular events, and residual adrenergic risk with persistence of hypertension should therapy eliminate obstructive apneas but not arousals.

Prognostic value of LA volumes assessed by transthoracic 3D echocardiography: comparison with 2D echocardiography

OBJECTIVES

The hypothesis of this study was that minimal left atrial volume index (LAVImin) by 3-dimensional echocardiography (3DE) is the best predictor of future cardiovascular events.

BACKGROUND

Although maximal left atrial volume index (LAVImax) by 2-dimensional echocardiography (2DE) is a robust index for predicting prognosis, the prognostic value of LAVImin and the superiority of measurements by 3DE over 2DE have not been determined in a large group of patients.

METHODS

In protocol 1, we assessed age and sex dependency of LAVIs using 2DE and 3DE in 124 normal subjects and determined their cutoff values (mean + 2 SD). In protocol 2, 2-dimensional (2D) and 3-dimensional (3D) LAVImax/LAVImin were measured in 556 patients with high prevalence of cardiovascular disease. After excluding patients with atrial fibrillation, mitral valve disease, and age <18 years, 439 subjects were followed to record major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). Patients were divided into 2 groups by the cutoff criteria of LAVI in each method.

RESULTS

In protocol 1, there was no significant age and sex dependency for each 2D and 3D LAVI. In protocol 2, during a mean of 2.5 years of follow-up, MACE developed in 88 patients, including 32 cardiac deaths. Kaplan-Meier survival analyses showed that all 4 LAVI cutoff criteria had significant predictive power of MACE. After variables were adjusted for clinical variables and left ventricular ejection fraction, all 4 methods were still independently and significantly associated with MACE, but 3D-derived LAVImin had the highest risk ratio. 3D LAVImin also had an incremental prognostic value over 3D LAVImax.

CONCLUSIONS

LAVIs by both 2DE and 3DE are powerful predictors of future cardiac events. 3D LAVImin tended to have a stronger and additive prognostic value than 3D LAVImax.

Different influences of left ventricular remodeling on anterior and posterior mitral leaflet tethering

BACKGROUND

 Different influences of left ventricular (LV) remodeling on anterior and posterior mitral leaflet (AML and PML) tethering in ischemic mitral regurgitation (MR) has not been fully investigated. We hypothesized that progressive outward displacement of papillary muscles, including posterior vector, may cause greater tethering to PML compared to AML.

METHODS AND RESULTS

 In 79 patients with LV ejection fraction <50% and 20 controls, LV sphericity, AML and PML tethering angles, apical and posterior displacement of coaptation, mitral annular area, and severity of MR (vena contracta width) were measured using 3-D echocardiography. To examine different influences of LV remodeling on AML and PML tethering, interaction between AML/PML and LV sphericity was tested using multiple regression analysis. Both AML and PML tethering significantly increased with increased LV sphericity (r=0.59 and 0.65, P<0.001). Multiple regression yielded a significant interaction term between AML vs. LV sphericity and PML vs. LV sphericity (t=3.69, P<0.001), indicating greater influence from LV remodeling on PML compared to that for the AML. Multivariate analysis demonstrated independent contributions to MR severity from PML tethering primarily along with posterior and apical displacement of coaptation.

CONCLUSIONS

 LV remodeling augments tethering of both AML and PML, with greater influence on PML. 

Sleep-disordered Breathing and Heart Failure – Insights from Speckle Tracking Echocardiography

Patients with heart failure frequently have associated sleep-disordered breathing, which has a significant negative impact on cardiac function. Echocardiography is a versatile modality for the management of heart failure. Recent developments in speckle tracking analysis have demonstrated that two-dimensional strain has potential for the quantification of subclinical abnormalities in ventricular function. This article outlines the utility of speckle tracking echocardiography in patients with heart failure and sleep-disordered breathing.

Comparison of acute and chronic impact of adaptive servo-ventilation on left chamber geometry and function in patients with chronic heart failure

AIMS

The aim of this study was to determine differences in the acute and chronic impact of adaptive servo-ventilation (ASV) on left chamber geometry and function in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF).

METHODS AND RESULTS

An acute ASV study was performed to measure echocardiographic parameters before and 30 min after the initiation of ASV therapy in 30 CHF patients (mean age: 69 years, 23 male). The chronic effects of ASV therapy were also evaluated in 26 of these 30 patients over a mean follow-up period of 24 weeks. Patients were divided into two groups according to the status of ASV therapy [ASV group (n= 15) and withdrawal group (n= 11)]. In the acute study, heart rate and blood pressure were significantly decreased 30 min after the ASV therapy compared with baseline. Stroke volume and cardiac output were significantly increased in conjunction with a reduction in systemic vascular resistance. Multivariate regression analysis revealed baseline E/e' to be an independent predictor for absolute increase in cardiac output. In the chronic study, a significant reduction of left ventricular (LV)/left atrial (LA) volumes and the severity of mitral regurgitation (MR), and improved LV diastolic function parameters were noted in the ASV group. These beneficial effects were not observed in the withdrawal group.

CONCLUSION

The acute beneficial impact of ASV is mainly associated with the reduction of afterload resulting in an increase in stroke volume and cardiac output. In contrast, chronic ASV therapy produces LV and LA reverse remodelling resulting in an improvement in LV function and the severity of MR in patients with CHF.

Assessment of the aortic root using real-time 3D transesophageal echocardiography

BACKGROUND

Precise evaluation of the aortic root geometry prior to transcatheter aortic valve implantation is important for procedural success in patients with aortic stenosis (AS). To determine the potential for 3-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography (3DTEE), the aims of the present study were: (1) to assess the accuracy of 3DTEE measurements of the aortic root using multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) as a reference, and (2) to examine whether aortic root geometry differs between patients with and without AS.

METHODS AND RESULTS

  3DTEE and contrast-enhanced MDCT were performed in 35 patients. Multiplanar reconstruction was used to measure the left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) and aortic annulus diameter/area, aortic valve area (AVA), and distances between the annulus and coronary artery ostium. The same 3DTEE measurements were performed in patients with (n=71) and without AS (n=80). Aortic annular and LVOT areas measured by 3DTEE were slightly but significantly smaller compared with values obtained with MDCT. Both methods revealed that the aortic annulus and LVOT have an oval shape. Aortic annular and LVOT area, AVA and the distances between the aortic annulus and the coronary ostia correlated well between the 2 modalities. Only minor differences in aortic root geometry were observed between patients with AS and those without.

CONCLUSIONS

The geometry of the aortic annulus can be reliably evaluated using 3DTEE as an alternative to MDCT for the assessment of aortic root.

Pitfalls of anatomical aortic valve area measurements using two-dimensional transoesophageal echocardiography and the potential of three-dimensional transoesophageal echocardiography

AIMS

The aims of this study were to (i) investigate aortic annulus dynamics using two-dimensional (2D) speckle tracking echocardiography, (ii) determine optimal 2D short-axis view for the calculation of planimetric aortic valve area (AVA), and (iii) compare 2D planimetric AVA extracted from volumetric three-dimensional data sets using real-time 3DTEE (three-dimensional transoesophageal echocardiography) with standard 2DTEE planimetry.

METHODS AND RESULTS

We studied 60 patients with aortic stenosis (AS) and 10 control subjects. AVA was calculated by standard 2DTEE planimetry method, volumetric 3DTEE method, and continuity equation (CE) from transthoracic echocardiography. In addition, aortic annular motion was studied using 2D speckle tracking. Aortic annulus moves cranially during early systole and subsequently moves caudally during the remainder of systole and isovolumic relaxation. Annulus again moved in the cranial direction during diastole in both groups. Although AVA correlated well between 2DTEE and 3DTEE methods (r = 0.95), 2DTEE showed a significantly larger AVA compared with 3DTEE method (1.26 +/- 0.39 vs. 1.10 +/- 0.39 cm(2), P < 0.001). In patients in whom aortic cusps were visible in 2DTEE short-axis images during systole only (n = 45), AVA using 2DTEE was still larger than that measured with 3DTEE. However, the bias in AVA was significantly lower compared with the remaining 15 patients (-0.13 +/- 0.11 vs. -0.26 +/- 0.12 cm(2), P < 0.005). Although both methods showed moderate correlation with AVA by CE (r = 0.78, 0.75), mean differences were significantly smaller by 3DTEE than 2DTEE (-0.01 +/- 0.25 vs. -0.17 +/- 0.27 cm(2), P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Aortic annular motion affects the calculation of AVA using 2DTEE. Three-dimensional transoesophageal echocardiography has a potential for more accurate determination of anatomical AVA.