Types of hemodynamic response to orthostasis according to continuous blood pressure monitoring: a case series of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction

Heart failure (HF) is associated with unfavorable outcomes and high health care costs. Determination of the hemodynamic response to orthostasis can be an additional tool in assessing the stability and compensation of HF patients. Active orthostatic test (AOT) with blood pressure monitoring serves as a simple and available screening method. However, a complete characteristic of the hemodynamic response, especially during the first minute of orthostasis, can be obtained only with continuous blood pressure monitoring. The presented case series demonstrate the types of hemodynamic response in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction in AOT with continuous blood pressure monitoring, available data on the mechanisms of its development, clinical and prognostic role, and also presents the advantages and limitations of AOT

Frequency of hemodynamic response to orthostatic stress in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, associations with clinical blood pressure

Aim. To assess hemodynamic response to active standing test (AST) with beat-to-beat blood pressure (BP) monitoring, their association with office BP and symptoms of orthostatic intolerance in patients with heart failure (HF).Material and methods. Outpatient HF patients with documented  left ventricular ejection  fraction <40%, followed   up in a HF center  and receiving optimal medical therapy, underwent AST with beat-to-beat  non-invasive BP monitoring.Hemodynamic response was assessed according to the European Federation of Autonomic Societies criteria.Results. The study included 87 patients (mean age, 57±10 years; men, 76%). Normal hemodynamic response to orthostatic stress was observed  in 36 (41,4%) patients. Pathological response prevailed during the first minute of orthostatic stress — initial orthostatic hypotension (OH) (n=29, 33,3%) and delayed BP recovery (n=18, 20,7%).  Classical OH was detected  in 4 (4,6%)  patients. There was no orthostatic hypertension, defined as an increase in systolic BP (SBP) ≥20 mm Hg. According to office BP, hypotension was observed in 19 (21,8%) patients (SBP <90 mm Hg in 4 patients and 90-100 mm Hg in 15), hypertension (SBP >140 mm Hg) in 11 (12,6%) patients. Pathological response to orthostatic stress were more often observed  in office  SBP >140 mm Hg compared  to SBP ≤140 mmHg (90,9% and 53,9%, p=0,020).Orthostatic intolerance was noted in 43 (49,4%) patients and were not associated with the level of office SBP (p=0,398) or pathological responses to orthostatic stress (p=0,758 for initial OH and p=0,248  for delayed  BP recovery).Conclusion. The pathological hemodynamic response in AST with beat-to-beat BP monitoring in ambulatory patients with HF is most often represented  by initial OH and delayed BP recovery associated  with office SBP >140 mmHg. The frequency of symptoms of orthostatic intolerance did not differ between groups depending on the presence of an inadequate response to orthostatic stress

Impact of obesity on echocardiographic parameters and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide levels in patients with heart failure with mid-range ejection fraction: unanswered questions

Aim. To analyze and compare the clinical, echocardiographic characteristics and serum N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels depending on the central cardiometabolic risk factors, with a focus on obesity, in patients with heart failure (HF) with mid-range ejection fraction (HFmrEF).Material and methods. The study included 111 patients with old myocardial infarction and HFmrEF (men, 100%; mean age, 60 years) predominantly of NYHA class II. Echocardiography and blood sampling for NT-proBNP were performed with sinus rhythm. Left atrial volume (LAV) and left ventricular mass (LVM) were indexed to body surface area (BSA) and height raised to a power.Results. Type 2 diabetes, overweight and obesity were diagnosed in 25%, 19%, 38% of cases, respectively, and were associated with greater changes in the morphologic and functional left ventricular parameters. There were no intergroup differences among patients with and without obesity in the LAV and LVM indexed to BSA. However, in patients with a body mass index (BMI) ≥30 kg/m2, the LAV indexed to height squared and LVM indexed to height2,7 were higher (p<0,05 for all). In 11% of obese patients, there were no changes in the criterion LAV or LVM values indexed to BSA, but the values indexed to height raised to a power exceeded the standard values. In 20% of patients with clinical manifestations of stable HFmrEF and structural and functional echocardiographic criteria, NT-proBNP were ≤125 pg/ml. An inverse correlation was found between NT-proBNP and BMI (r=-0,29; p=0,008), and lower values of myocardial stress marker were observed in obese patients (p=0,048).Conclusion. Considering the high incidence of obesity in patients with HFmrEF and its ability to reduce NT-proBNP, an algorithm modification is required for diagnosing HFmrEF as follows: focus on clinical and personalized echocardiography data, taking into account the obesity and, possibly, indexing the threshold natriuretic peptide values in patients with BMI ≥30 kg/m2. The issues of indexation of echocardiographic parameters depending on morphometric parameters in obese patients today remain open, predetermining the limitations in diagnosis of heart failure with left ventricular ejection fraction >40%. This requires the search for optimal standardization and the development of a unified methodological approach

The possibility of early detection of atherosclerotic vascular lesions in rheumatic diseases

Identification of subclinical lesions of the heart and blood vessels in patients with rheumatic diseases (RD), as well as the comparison of subclinical markers of cardiovascular lesions in patients with RD and RD patients without having one of the risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Surveyed 56 patients (15 men and 41 female) at the age of 45.2 ± 13.42 years with different rheumatic diseases. For the comparison group surveyed residents of one of the districts of Saint Petersburg (50 people). All patients have been conducted questioning, characterizes lifestyle, risk factors, comorbidity and drug therapy. Anthropometry were measured in weight, height with a calculation of body mass index, waist circumference, hip circumference. Endothelial dysfunction study conducted on the Endo Pat 2000 (company “Itamar Medical Ltd, Israel): reactive hyperemia index (RHI) and augmentation index (AI). Dysfunction of the endothelium have registered a value of RHI 9.6 m/s compared to the 2nd and 3rd groups of patients with RD. We have identified correlate titer of antinuclear factor, reactive hyperemia index (RHI), augmentation index (AI, EndoPat), the central pulse pressure (PP) show integration structures of the cardiovascular system in the pathological process in RD, including asymptomatic from the system

Neurogenic stressor cardiomyopathy caused by aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage

Clinical demonstration of the development of acute non-coronarogenic myocardial lesion in a patient with intraoperative rupture of the arterial aneurysm of the basilar artery. Neurogenic cardiomyopathy should be considered in the differential diagnostics of acute heart failure in patients with acute cerebral lesion

An open-label multicenter observational study (registry) of patients recovered from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) with involvement of the cardiovascular system or with baseline severe cardiovascular diseases: rationale, design, and implications for clinical practice

The potential impact on cardiovascular morbidity and mortality have become one of the most important issues of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. COVID-19 may be associated with more frequent development of acute cardiovascular complications, while patients with established cardiovascular diseases are characterized by a higher risk of severe infection and adverse in-hospital outcomes. Due to the spread scale of the pandemic, understanding the long-term cardiovascular consequences of COVID-19 is of no less importance. Inability to extrapolate available international data to the Russian population has led to the initiation of a national multicenter study (registry) of patients recovered from COVID-19 and with concomitant involvement of the cardiovascular system or with baseline severe cardiovascular diseases. The article presents its rationale, design and implications of the results for clinical practice