Public assistance in patients with acute heart failure: a report from the KCHF registry.

Aims: There is a scarcity of data on the post-discharge prognosis in acute heart failure (AHF) patients with a low-income but receiving public assistance. The study sought to evaluate the differences in the clinical characteristics and outcomes between AHF patients receiving public assistance and those not receiving public assistance.

Methods And Results: The Kyoto Congestive Heart Failure registry was a physician-initiated, prospective, observational, multicentre cohort study enrolling 4056 consecutive patients who were hospitalized due to AHF for the first time between October 2014 and March 2016.

C-reactive protein at discharge and 1-year mortality in hospitalised patients with acute decompensated heart failure: an observational study.

Objectives: To examine the association of a high C-reactive protein (CRP) level at discharge from an acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) hospitalisation with the 1-year clinical outcomes.

Design: A post-hoc subanalysis of a prospective cohort study of patients hospitalised for ADHF (using the Kyoto Congestive Heart Failure (KCHF) registry) between October 2014 and March 2016 with a 1-year follow-up.

Setting: A physician-initiated multicentre registry enrolled consecutive hospitalised patients with ADHF for the first time at 19 secondary and tertiary hospitals in Japan.

Association with Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) Score and In-hospital Mortality and Infection in Acute Heart Failure.

The high controlling nutritional status (CONUT) score that represents poor nutritional status has been acknowledged to have prognostic implications in chronic heart failure. We aimed to investigate its role in acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF). Using the data from an multicenter registry that enrolled 4056 consecutive patients hospitalized for ADHF in Japan between 2014 and 2016, we analyzed 2466 patients in whom data on the components of the CONUT score at hospital presentation were available.

Decline in Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction During Follow-Up in Patients With Severe Aortic Stenosis.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic impact of the decline in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) at 1-year follow-up in patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) managed conservatively.

Background: No previous study has explored the association between LVEF decline during follow-up and clinical outcomes in patients with severe AS.

Methods: Among 3,815 patients with severe AS enrolled in the multicenter CURRENT AS (Contemporary Outcomes After Surgery and Medical Treatment in Patients With Severe Aortic Stenosis) registry in Japan, 839 conservatively managed patients who underwent echocardiography at 1-year follow-up were analyzed.

Association of Previous Hospitalization for Heart Failure With Increased Mortality in Patients Hospitalized for Acute Decompensated Heart Failure.

We sought to explore the effects of previous heart failure (HF) hospitalization on mortality in patients hospitalized for acute decompensated HF (ADHF) in a large Japanese contemporary observational database. We prospectively enrolled consecutive patients with ADHF in 19 participating hospitals between October 2014 and March 2016. Of 4,056 patients, 1,442 patients (35.

Demographics, Management, and In-Hospital Outcome of Hospitalized Acute Heart Failure Syndrome Patients in Contemporary Real Clinical Practice in Japan - Observations From the Prospective, Multicenter Kyoto Congestive Heart Failure (KCHF) Registry.

Background: There is a scarcity of reports on the clinical characteristics and management practice in contemporary all-comer patients with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF).

Methods and results: The Kyoto Congestive Heart Failure (KCHF) registry is a prospective observational cohort study enrolling 4,056 consecutive patients who had hospital admission due to ADHF without any exclusion criteria between October 2014 and March 2016 in the 19 participating hospitals in Japan. Baseline characteristics, clinical presentations, management, and in-hospital outcomes were compared between heart failure (HF) with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF; HFrEF, LVEF <40%), HF with mid-range LVEF (HFmrEF, LVEF 40-49%), and HF with preserved LVEF (HFpEF, LVEF ≥50%).

Malignant disease as a comorbidity in patients with severe aortic stenosis: clinical presentation, outcomes, and management.

Aim: To investigate the effect of malignancy on the outcomes of patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) and the management strategy for AS with malignancy.

Methods And Results: Using data of 3815 patients with severe AS in a retrospective multicentre registry [CURRENT AS (Contemporary outcomes after sURgery and medical tREatmeNT in patients with severe Aortic Stenosis) registry], we compared 3-year clinical outcomes among three groups based on malignancy status: with malignancy currently under treatment including best supportive care (malignancy group), with a history of malignancy without any current treatment (past history group), or without history of malignancy (no malignancy group). Patients in the malignancy group (n = 124) were more often men and had higher prevalence of low body mass index, recurrence of malignancy, anaemia, and asymptomatic status, despite comparable surgical risks and echocardiographic parameters.

Comparison of the Influence of Right Atrial Septal Pacing and Appendage Pacing on an Atrial Function and Atrial Fibrillation in the Clinical Situation.

Introduction: Recently right atrial septal (RAS) pacing is often selected, but the benefit brought by RAS pacing has not been clear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the differences between RAS pacing and right appendage (RAA) pacing.

Methods: 223 consecutive new patients with a right atrial (RA) electrode during the period from January 2004 to December 2012 were studied retrospectively.

A rare case of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with subendocardial late gadolinium enhancement in an apical aneurysm with thrombus.

The mechanisms responsible for the development of apical aneurysms in cases of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) are currently unclear but likely involve multiple factors. Here, we present a case of HCM with marked subendocardial fibrosis involving the apical and proximal portions of the left ventricle. A 71-year-old man with left ventricular hypertrophy presented with signs and symptoms of heart failure.

Diffuse homogeneous bone marrow uptake of FDG in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

PET (positron emission tomography) using FDG (¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose) has been widely used in the evaluation of various malignancies, but its clinical application to leukemia remains limited. We report a case of leukemia in which diffuse bone marrow uptake of FDG was observed, and bone marrow aspiration subsequently revealed acute lymphoblastic leukemia. It is not easy to differentiate between physiological and pathologic uptake when diffuse homogeneous uptake in bone marrow is observed.