Prognostic utility of ST2 in patients with acute dyspnea and preserved left ventricular ejection fraction.

Background: Soluble ST2 (sST2), an interleukin-1 receptor family member, is an emerging risk indicator for patients with cardiovascular disease. We evaluated the prognostic role of sST2 for patients presenting to the emergency department with acute dyspnea, with a focus on those with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF ≥50%), as risk stratification is often most complex in this subgroup.

Methods: We conducted a post hoc analysis of 387 patients [39% female, mean (SD) age 57.

Post-discharge changes in NT-proBNP and quality of life after acute dyspnea hospitalization as predictors of one-year outcomes.

Aims: The association of serial NT-proBNP changes and poor quality of life (QOL) with progressive heart failure (HF) and clinical outcomes in emergency department dyspnea patients is poorly understood.

Methods And Results: The predictive value of changes in NT-proBNP and QOL (Minnesota Living with Heart Failure scale) from baseline to 30-day follow-up was examined for all-cause 1-year mortality and HF hospitalization. Patients with an initially elevated NT-proBNP (≥300 ng/L) which persisted at 30-days (no ≥25% decrease) were at high risk of death or HF hospitalization (HR=6.

Registered nurses as members of interprofessional primary health care teams in remote or isolated areas of Queensland: Collaboration, communication and partnerships in practice.

Nurses represent the largest occupational group of health care professionals in Australia. The ratio of nurses to population is relatively consistent, unlike other health care professional groups (including medical doctors and allied health staff) whose numbers decline as population density and distance from metropolitan areas increases. Nurses working in areas where other health care professionals are limited or absent have expanded scopes of practice with their work being more generalist than specialist.

Natriuretic peptides and echocardiography in acute dyspnoea: implication of elevated levels with normal systolic function.

Aims: Previous evaluations of natriuretic peptide (NP) levels in patients with acute dyspnoea presenting to the emergency department (ED) have selected only a minority of patients for echocardiography. We aimed to evaluate the association between NPs and more subtle echocardiographic findings and to assess the potential for NPs to provide additional prognostic information beyond that provided by echocardiography in 'all-comers' with acute dyspnoea.

Methods And Results: Prospective echocardiograms were performed on 338/412 patients presenting to the ED with acute dyspnoea.

Lack of diagnostic and prognostic utility of circulating plasma myeloperoxidase concentrations in patients presenting with dyspnea.

Background: Plasma myeloperoxidase (MPO), an inflammatory biomarker, is associated with increased mortality in patients with acute coronary syndrome or chronic left ventricular systolic dysfunction. We sought to assess the diagnostic accuracy of MPO for acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) and its prognostic value for patients with acute dyspnea.

Methods: In a prospective, observational study conducted in 5 US centers, 412 patients [mean (SD) age, 58 (14) years; 39% women] presenting with dyspnea to the emergency department were enrolled and followed for 1 year.