Randomised controlled trial of specialist nurse intervention in heart failure

<p>Objectives. To determine whether specialist nurse intervention improves outcome in patients with chronic heart failure.</p> <p>Design. Randomised controlled trial.</p> <p>Setting. Acute medical admissions unit in a teaching hospital.</p> <p>Participants. 165 patients admitted with heart failure due to left ventricular systolic dysfunction. The intervention started before discharge and continued thereafter with home visits for up to 1 year.</p> <p>Main outcome measures. Time to first event analysis of death from all causes or readmission to hospital with worsening heart failure.</p> <p>Results. 31 patients (37%) in the intervention group died or were readmitted with heart failure compared with 45 (53%) in the usual care group (hazard ratio=0.61, 95% confidence interval 0.33 to 0.96).Compared with usual care, patients in the intervention group had fewer readmissions for any reason (86 v 114, P=0.018), fewer admissions for heart failure (19 v 45, P<0.001) and spent fewer days in hospital for heart failure (mean 3.43 v 7.46 days, P=0.0051).</p> <p>Conclusions. Specially trained nurses can improve the outcome of patients admitted to hospital with heart failure.</p&gt

International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM): Standardized Patient-Centered Outcomes Measurement Set for Heart Failure Patients

Whereas multiple national, international, and trial registries for heart failure have been created, international standards for clinical assessment and outcome measurement do not currently exist. The working group's objective was to facilitate international comparison in heart failure care, using standardized parameters and meaningful patient-centered outcomes for research and quality of care assessments. The International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement recruited an international working group of clinical heart failure experts, researchers, and patient representatives to define a standard set of outcomes and risk-adjustment variables. This was designed to document, compare, and ultimately improve patient care outcomes in the heart failure population, with a focus on global feasibility and relevance. The working group employed a Delphi process, patient focus groups, online patient surveys, and multiple systematic publications searches. The process occurred over 10 months, employing 7 international teleconferences. A 17-item set has been established, addressing selected functional, psychosocial, burden of care, and survival outcome domains. These measures were designed to include all patients with heart failure, whether entered at first presentation or subsequent decompensation, excluding cardiogenic shock. Sources include clinician report, administrative data, and validated patient-reported outcome measurement tools: the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire; the Patient Health Questionnaire-2; and the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System. Recommended data included those to support risk adjustment and benchmarking across providers and regions. The International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement developed a dataset designed to capture, compare, and improve care for heart failure, with feasibility and relevance for patients and clinicians worldwide

The prognostic use of right heart catheterization data in patients with advanced heart failure: How relevant are invasive procedures in the risk stratification of advanced heart failure in the era of neurohormones?

Background Right heart catheterization long has been a routine investigation in advanced heart failure, and its measurements have been linked variably to prognosis. However, in the modern era, newer potential markers of prognosis are coming to light. This study reconsiders the use of right heart catheterization data and compares their use to that of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), a neurohormone linked with prognosis in chronic heart failure. Methods We assessed prospectively the prognostic potential of baseline right heart catheterization data in 97 consecutive patients with advanced heart failure referred to the Scottish Cardiopulmonary Transplant Unit for consideration of cardiac transplantation. Patients underwent baseline routine investigation, including right heart catheterization and blood draws for NT-proBNP analysis. Patients were observed for a median of 370 days. Results The primary end-point of all-cause mortality was reached in 17 patients (17.5%), and the secondary end-point of all-cause mortality or urgent cardiac transplantation was reached in 21 (21.6%) patients. Univariate predictors of all-cause mortality included pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP), pulmonary artery wedge pressure (PAWP), and NT-proBNP concentration greater than their median values. Univariate predictors of the secondary end-point included right atrial pressure, PASP, PAWP, and NT-proBNP concentration greater than their median values, and left ventricular ejection fraction, cardiac output, and cardiac index less than their median values. In multivariate analyses, however, only NT-proBNP concentration remained an independent predictor of all-cause mortality. Both NT-proBNP concentration and PAWP were independent predictors of all-cause mortality and of the need for urgent cardiac transplantation. Conclusion Baseline data from routine right heart catheterization are of limited prognostic use in advanced heart failure. A baseline NT-proBNP concentration is a superior, non-invasive method of risk stratification in this era of measuring neurohormones

Platelet and cardiac function in Darier's disease

ATP2A2, the gene that is abnormal in Darier's disease, encodes SERCA2, a calcium pump that is expressed in many tissues. The wide expression of SERCA2 might suggest that ATP2A2 mutations would cause a multisystem disease. There is however, no evidence of consistent extracutaneous manifestations of Darier's disease. We have conducted preliminary studies in patients with Darier's disease, in two extracutaneous systems in which SERCA2 is known to be important, in order to investigate whether subtle defects have been overlooked. We found no evidence for altered cardiac function in 10 patients using two‐dimensional, colour and Doppler echocardiography. There were no consistent defects in platelet function in 12 patients, using bleeding time and aggregation studies. We conclude that the skin is sensitive to defects in SERCA2 function to which other systems appear robust

Left-ventricular dysfunction

No abstract available

N-terminal brain natriuretic peptide, but not anemia, is a powerful predictor of mortality in advanced heart failure

Background Anemia is prevalent in patients with chronic heart failure, the proportion of which increases with deteriorating New York Heart Association functional class. Anemia is also associated with increased symptoms, more frequent hospitalizations, and, in some studies, with an increased mortality rate. We have demonstrated that N-terminal brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) is a powerful predictor of death in advanced heart failure and is superior to the traditional markers of chronic heart failure (CHF) severity. However, to date, there are no published data that compare the prognostic ability of NT-proBNP with that of hemoglobin and hematocrit in patients with advanced heart failure who are referred for consideration of cardiac transplantation at a time when erythropoietin is under investigation as a treatment option in such a population. Methods and Results We prospectively studied 182 consecutive patients with advanced CHF who had been referred for consideration of cardiac transplantation. Blood samples were taken at recruitment for routine investigation and for NT-proBNP analysis; the patients' condition was followed for a median of 554 days. The primary end point of all-cause death was reached in 30 patients, and the secondary end point of all-cause death or urgent cardiac transplantation was reached in 34 patients. The mean hemoglobin level was 13.9 ± 2.2 g/dL, and the median concentration of NT-proBNP was 1505 pg/mL (interquartile range, 517–4015). The only multivariate predictor of all-cause death (χ2 = 14.2; P < .001) or the secondary end point of all-cause death or urgent transplantation (χ2 = 21.8; P < .001) was an NT-proBNP concentration above the median value. Conclusion A single measurement of NT-proBNP in patients with advanced CHF can help to identify patients who are at a higher risk of death and is a better prognostic marker than anemia

N-terminal brain natriuretic peptide is a more powerful predictor of mortality than endothelin-1, adrenomedullin and turnour necrosis factor-alpha in patients referred for consideration of cardiac transplantation

Background: The selection of patients for cardiac transplantation is notoriously difficult. We have demonstrated that N-terminal brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) is a powerful predictor of mortality in advanced heart failure and is superior to the traditional markers of chronic heart failure (CHF) severity. However, the comparative prognostic power of endothelin-1 (Et-1), adrenomedullin (Adm) and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) in this patient group is unknown. Methods and results: We prospectively studied 150 consecutive patients with advanced CHF referred for consideration of cardiac transplantation. Blood samples for NT-proBNP, Et-1, Adm and TNF-α analysis were taken at recruitment and patients followed up for a median of 666 days. The primary endpoint of all-cause mortality was reached in 25 patients and the secondary endpoint of all-cause mortality or urgent cardiac transplantation in 29 patients. The median values for NT-proBNP, Et-1, Adm and TNF-α were 1494 pg/ml [interquartile range 530−3930], 0.39 fmol/ml [0.10−1.24], 94 pg/ml [54−207] and 2.0 pg/ml [0−18.5] respectively. The only univariate and multivariate predictor of all-cause mortality (χ2=26.95, p<0.0001), or the secondary endpoint of all-cause mortality or urgent transplantation (χ2=31.23, p<0.0001), was an NT-proBNP concentration above the median value. Conclusion: A single measurement of NT-proBNP in patients with advanced CHF can help identify patients at the highest risk of death, and is a better prognostic marker than Et-1, Adm and TNF-α