In young adults, overweight and hypertension possibly already trigger cardiac remodeling as seen in mature adults, potentially overlapping non-ischemic cardiomyopathy findings. To this end, in young overweight and hypertensive adults, we aimed to investigate changes in left ventricular mass (LVM) and cardiac volumes, and the impact of different body scales for indexation. We also aimed to explore the presence of myocardial fibrosis, fat and edema, and changes in cellular mass with extracellular volume (ECV), T1 and T2 tissue characteristics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To evaluate if a fully-automatic deep learning method for myocardial strain analysis based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) cine images can detect asymptomatic dysfunction in young adults with cardiac risk factors.
Methods: An automated workflow termed DeepStrain was implemented using two U-Net models for segmentation and motion tracking. DeepStrain was trained and tested using short-axis cine-MRI images from healthy subjects and patients with cardiac disease.
Background: Young adult populations with the sedentary lifestyle-related risk factors overweight, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes (T2D) are growing, and associated cardiac alterations could overlap early findings in non-ischemic cardiomyopathy on cardiovascular MRI. We aimed to investigate cardiac morphology, function, and tissue characteristics for these cardiovascular risk factors.
Methods: Non-athletic non-smoking asymptomatic adults aged 18-45 years were prospectively recruited and underwent 3Tesla cardiac MRI.
Automating cardiac function assessment on cardiac magnetic resonance short-axis cines is faster and more reproducible than manual contour-tracing; however, accurately tracing basal contours remains challenging. Three automated post-processing software packages (Level 1) were compared to manual assessment. Subsequently, automated basal tracings were manually adjusted using a standardized protocol combined with software package-specific relative-to-manual standard error correction (Level 2).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAims: Urinary sodium assessment has recently been proposed as a target for loop diuretic therapy in acute heart failure (AHF). We aimed to investigate the time course, clinical correlates and prognostic importance of urinary sodium excretion in AHF.
Methods And Results: In a prospective cohort of 175 consecutive patients with an admission for AHF we evaluated urinary sodium excretion 6 h after initiation of loop diuretic therapy.
Comorbidities frequently accompany chronic heart failure (HF), contributing to increased morbidity and mortality, and an impaired quality of life. We describe the prevalence of several high-impact comorbidities in chronic HF patients and their impact on morbidity and mortality. Furthermore, we try to explain the underlying pathophysiological processes and the complex interaction between chronic HF and specific comorbidities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAims: Heart failure (HF) is associated with tissue hypoperfusion and congestion leading to organ dysfunction. Although cerebral blood flow (CBF) is preserved over a wide range of perfusion pressures in healthy subjects, it is impaired in end-stage HF. We aimed to compare CBF, autoregulation, and cognitive function in patients with mild non-ischaemic HF with healthy controls.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Sleep apnea is an important comorbidity in heart failure (HF) and is associated with an adverse outcome. Diagnosing sleep apnea is difficult, and polysomnography, considered to be the criterion standard, is not widely available. We assessed the validity of a portable 2-channel sleep-screening tool for the identification of sleep apnea in patients with HF.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Contradictory results have been reported on the effects of nesiritide on renal function in patients with acute decompensated heart failure. We studied the effects of nesiritide on renal function during hospitalization for acute decompensated heart failure and associated outcomes.
Methods And Results: A total of 7141 patients were randomized to receive either nesiritide or placebo and creatinine was recorded in 5702 patients at baseline, after infusion, discharge, peak/nadir levels until day 30.
Background: Elevated plasma concentrations of liver function tests are prevalent in patients with chronic heart failure (HF). Little is known about liver function in patients with acute HF. We aimed to assess the prevalence and prognostic value of serial measurements of liver function tests in patients admitted with acute decompensated HF.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Anemia is frequently observed in patients with cardiovascular disease. Multiple factors have been associated with anemia, but the role of hemodynamics is largely unknown. Therefore, we investigated the association between hemoglobin (Hb) levels, hemodynamics and outcome in a broad spectrum of cardiovascular patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAims: Co-morbidities frequently accompany heart failure (HF), contributing to increased morbidity and mortality, and an impairment of quality of life. We assessed the prevalence, determinants, regional variation, and prognostic implications of co-morbidities in patients with chronic HF in Europe.
Methods And Results: A total of 3226 European outpatients with chronic HF were included in this analysis of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Heart Failure Pilot Survey.
Background: In patients with heart failure, renal dysfunction is associated with a poor outcome. We aimed to assess the prognostic value of plasma neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), a novel marker of renal tubular damage, in patients with heart failure with or without renal dysfunction, and compare it with 2 frequently used biomarkers of chronic kidney disease.
Methods And Results: Plasma NGAL, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), and cystatin C were assessed in 562 patients with heart failure.
Purpose: Increased myocardial infarct (MI) size is associated with higher risk of developing left ventricular dysfunction, heart failure and mortality. Experimental studies have suggested that metformin treatment reduces MI size after induced ischaemia but human data is lacking. We aimed to investigate the effect of metformin on MI size in patients presenting with an acute MI.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAims: Despite disparities in pathophysiology and disease manifestation between male and female patients with heart failure, studies focusing on sex differences in biomarkers are scarce. The purpose of this study was to assess sex-specific variation in clinical characteristics and biomarker levels to gain more understanding of the potential pathophysiological mechanisms underlying sex differences in heart failure.
Methods And Results: Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics, multiple biomarkers, and outcomes were compared between men and women in 567 patients.
Heart failure is a clinical syndrome characterized by poor quality of life and high morbidity and mortality. Co-morbidities frequently accompany heart failure and further decrease in both quality of life and clinical outcome. We describe that the prevalence of co-morbidities in patients with heart failure is much higher compared to age-matched controls.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: We sought to investigate the relationship between increased central venous pressure (CVP), renal function, and mortality in a broad spectrum of cardiovascular patients.
Background: The pathophysiology of impaired renal function in cardiovascular disease is multifactorial. The relative importance of increased CVP has not been addressed previously.