Influence of socioeconomic status on rates of advanced heart failure therapies.

Background: Socioeconomic deprivation is associated with a lower likelihood of referral for advanced heart failure (HF) evaluation, but it is not known whether it influences rates of advanced HF therapies independently of key hemodynamic measures and comorbidity following advanced HF evaluation in a universal healthcare system.

Methods: We linked data from a single-center Danish clinical registry of consecutive patients evaluated for advanced HF with patient-level information on socioeconomic status. Patients were divided into groups based on the level of education (low, medium, and high), combined degree of socioeconomic deprivation (low, medium, and high), and household income quartiles.

Thoracentesis to alleviate pleural effusion in acute heart failure: study protocol for the multicentre, open-label, randomised controlled TAP-IT trial.

Introduction: Pleural effusion is present in half of the patients hospitalised with acute heart failure. The condition is treated with diuretics and/or therapeutic thoracentesis for larger effusions. No evidence from randomised trials or guidelines supports thoracentesis to alleviate pleural effusion due to acute heart failure.

Short-term outcomes after heart transplantation using donor hearts preserved with ex vivo perfusion.

The standard Conventional Cold Storage (CCS) during heart transplantation procurement is associated with time-dependent ischemic injury to the graft, which is a significant independent risk factor for post-transplant early morbidity and mortality - especially when cold ischemic time exceeds four hours. Since 2018, Rigshospitalet (Copenhagen, Denmark) has been utilising perfusion (Organ Care System, OCS) in selected cases. The objective of this study was to compare the short-term clinical outcomes of patients transplanted with OCS compared to CCS.

Prognosis and Personalized In Silico Prediction of Treatment Efficacy in Cardiovascular and Chronic Kidney Disease: A Proof-of-Concept Study.

(1) Background: Kidney and cardiovascular diseases are responsible for a large fraction of population morbidity and mortality. Early, targeted, personalized intervention represents the ideal approach to cope with this challenge. Proteomic/peptidomic changes are largely responsible for the onset and progression of these diseases and should hold information about the optimal means of treatment and prevention.

Importance of heart failure duration for development of pulmonary hypertension in advanced heart failure.

Background And Objectives: Pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) is critical when evaluating candidacy for advanced heart failure (HF) therapies, but risk factors for elevated PVR are not well studied. We hypothesized that HF duration would be associated with elevated PVR.

Methods: Danish single-center registry of consecutive in- and outpatients undergoing right heart catheterization as part of advanced HF work up.

Hyponatremia in Stable Patients with Advanced Heart Failure: Association to Hemodynamics and Outcome.

Introduction: Hyponatremia is associated with worse outcomes in patients with chronic heart failure (HF) and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). However, it is unclear whether the worse prognosis is driven by hemodynamic derangement and how this potentially could be associated with hyponatremia.

Methods: The study included 502 patients with HFrEF evaluated for advanced HF therapies, who underwent a right heart catheterization (RHC).

Diabetes mellitus and hemodynamics in advanced heart failure.

Background: The presence of diabetes in patients with heart failure (HF) is associated with a worse prognosis. It is unclear if hemodynamics in HF patients with DM differ from those of non-diabetic patients and how this might influence outcome. This study aims to discover the impact of DM on hemodynamics in HF patients.

Prevalence of heart failure phenotypes and current use of therapies in primary care: results from a nationwide study.

Aims: Heart failure (HF) is an increasing concern worldwide. A rising HF burden is expected due to the prospected future demographic changes with aging populations. Consequently, the long-term follow-up and treatment will be performed increasingly by primary care physicians in the future.

Uric acid in advanced heart failure: relation to central haemodynamics and outcome.

Objective: The role of hyperuricaemia as a prognostic maker has been established in chronic heart failure (HF) but limited information on the association between plasma uric acid (UA) levels and central haemodynamic measurements is available.

Methods: A retrospective study on patients with advanced HF referred for right heart catherisation. Regression analyses were constructed to investigate the association between UA and haemodynamic variables.

Loss of Nuclear Envelope Integrity and Increased Oxidant Production Cause DNA Damage in Adult Hearts Deficient in PKP2: A Molecular Substrate of ARVC.

Background: Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is characterized by high propensity to life-threatening arrhythmias and progressive loss of heart muscle. More than 40% of reported genetic variants linked to ARVC reside in the gene, which encodes the PKP2 protein (plakophilin-2).

Methods: We describe a comprehensive characterization of the ARVC molecular landscape as determined by high-resolution mass spectrometry, RNA sequencing, and transmission electron microscopy of right ventricular biopsy samples obtained from patients with ARVC with mutations and left ventricular ejection fraction >45%.

Trends in underlying causes of death in solid organ transplant recipients between 2010 and 2020: Using the CLASS method for determining specific causes of death.

Monitoring specific underlying causes of death in solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients is important in order to identify emerging trends and health challenges. This retrospective cohort study includes all SOT recipients transplanted at Rigshospitalet between January 1st, 2010 and December 31st, 2019. The underlying cause of death was determined using the newly developed Classification of Death Causes after Transplantation (CLASS) method.

Hemodynamic Effects of Cyclic Guanosine Monophosphate-Dependent Signaling Through β3 Adrenoceptor Stimulation in Patients With Advanced Heart Failure: A Randomized Invasive Clinical Trial.

Background: β3-AR (β3-adrenergic receptor) stimulation improved systolic function in a sheep model of systolic heart failure (heart failure with reduced ejection fraction [HFrEF]). Exploratory findings in patients with New York Heart Association functional class II HFrEF treated with the β3-AR-agonist mirabegron supported this observation. Here, we measured the hemodynamic response to mirabegron in patients with severe HFrEF.

[Myocarditis and development of dilated cardiomyopathy].

Inflammation is increasingly recognised as a causal factor in the development and progression of cardiovascular disease. With the introduction of immune checkpoint inhibitors in oncology and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic the role of the immune system in myocardial inflammation (myocarditis) and subsequent inflammatory cardiomyopathy has once again regained attention. In this review, we want to bring myocardial inflammation to the clinician's attention and provide up-to-date knowledge on its diagnostic workup, prognostication, and current management recommendations.

Aortic Pulsatility Index: A New Haemodynamic Measure with Prognostic Value in Advanced Heart Failure.

Aim: To test if the newly described haemodynamic variable, aortic pulsatility index (API), predicts long-term prognosis in advanced heart failure (HF).

Methods: A single-centre study on 453 HF patients (median age: 51 years; left ventricular ejection fraction [LVEF]: 19% ± 9%) referred for right heart catheterisation. API was calculated as pulse pressure/pulmonary capillary wedge pressure.

Three decades of heart transplantation: experience and long-term outcome.

. Heart transplantation (HTx) has become an established treatment option in patients with end-stage heart failure. The aim of this study was to report on long-term outcome over the past three decades.

Oxygen Uptake During Activities of Daily Life in Patients Treated With a Left Ventricular Assist Device.

Introduction: Oxygen consumption during activities of daily life (ADL) is not described in recipients of left ventricular assist device (LVAD). We aimed to investigate the relation between oxygen consumption during predefined ADLs and measures of functional capacity (FC) in stable-phase LVAD recipients.

Methods: LVADs and controls were matched on gender, age, BMI, smoking status, and ethnicity.

Socioeconomic Disparities in Referral for Invasive Hemodynamic Evaluation for Advanced Heart Failure: A Nationwide Cohort Study.

Background: Factors determining referral for advanced heart failure (HF) evaluation are poorly studied. We studied the influence of socioeconomic aspects on the referral process in Denmark, which has a taxpayer-funded national health care system.

Methods: We identified all patients aged 18 to 75 years with a first diagnosis of HF during 2010 to 2018.