Inotropic effect of nicardipine in patients with heart failure: Assessment by left ventricular end-systolic pressure-volume analysis

AbstractNicardipine, a new dihydropyridine calcium channel blocker, has been investigated for the treatment of coronary artery disease and heart failure. To assess the inotropic effect of nicardipine in humans independent of its vasodilator effect, equihypotensive doses of intravenous nitroprusside (mean infusion rate 65 ± 13 μg/min) and nicardipine (mean dose 5.2 ± 0.4 mg) were administered to 15 patients with heart failure (New York Heart Association functional classes II to IV, radionuclide left ventricular ejection fraction 0.15 ± 0.02). Left ventricular micromanometer pressure and simultaneous radionuclide left ventricular volume were obtained at baseline, during nitroprusside infusion, during a second baseline period and during nicardipine infusion.Heart rate did not change significantly with either nitroprusside or nicardipine. Mean systemic arterial pressure decreased by an average of 21 mm Hg with both drugs. A greater decrease in left ventricular end-diastolic pressure occurred with nitroprusside (27 ± 2 to 14 ± 2 mm Hg, p < 0.01) than with nicardipine (27 ± 2 to 23 ± 3 mm Hg, p < 0.05), and pulmonary capillary wedge pressure decreased significantly only with nitroprusside. Cardiac index increased from 1.8 ± 0.1 to 2.1 ± 0.1 liters/min per m2(p < 0.05) with nitroprusside and to a greater extent from 1.7 ± 0.1 to 2.4 ± 0.1 liters/min per m2(p < 0.01) with nicardipine. Left ventricular ejection fraction increased with nicardipine (0.15 ± 0.01 to 0.19 ± 0.01, p < 0.01), but not with nitroprusside.Peak positive first derivative of left ventricular pressure (dP/dt) decreased by 9% with both agents. Left ventricular pressure-volume loops were constructed for 14 patients. In 12 patients, the left ventricular end-systolic pressure-volume relation was shifted rightward with nicardipine, indicating a negative inotropic effect, with no shift in the remaining 2 patients.Thus, nicardipine has a negative inotropic effect in patients with heart failure. Despite this effect, left ventricular ejection fraction and cardiac index increased with nicardipine. This overall improvement in ventricular systolic performance was due to a reduction in afterload

Effect of Oral Iron Repletion on Exercise Capacity in Patients With Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction and Iron Deficiency: The IRONOUT HF Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Iron deficiency is present in approximately 50% of patients with heart failure with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (HFrEF) and is an independent predictor of reduced functional capacity and mortality. However, the efficacy of inexpensive readily available oral iron supplementation in heart failure is unknown. Objective: To test whether therapy with oral iron improves peak exercise capacity in patients with HFrEF and iron deficiency. Design, Setting, and Participants: Phase 2, double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial of patients with HFrEF ( Interventions: Oral iron polysaccharide (n = 111) or placebo (n = 114), 150 mg twice daily for 16 weeks. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary end point was a change in peak oxygen uptake (V̇o2) from baseline to 16 weeks. Secondary end points were change in 6-minute walk distance, plasma N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels, and health status as assessed by Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ, range 0-100, higher scores reflect better quality of life). Results: Among 225 randomized participants (median age, 63 years; 36% women) 203 completed the study. The median baseline peak V̇o2 was 1196 mL/min (interquartile range [IQR], 887-1448 mL/min) in the oral iron group and 1167 mL/min (IQR, 887-1449 mL/min) in the placebo group. The primary end point, change in peak V̇o2 at 16 weeks, did not significantly differ between the oral iron and placebo groups (+23 mL/min vs -2 mL/min; difference, 21 mL/min [95% CI, -34 to +76 mL/min]; P = .46). Similarly, at 16 weeks, there were no significant differences between treatment groups in changes in 6-minute walk distance (-13 m; 95% CI, -32 to 6 m), NT-proBNP levels (159; 95% CI, -280 to 599 pg/mL), or KCCQ score (1; 95% CI, -2.4 to 4.4), all P \u3e .05. Conclusions and Relevance: Among participants with HFrEF with iron deficiency, high-dose oral iron did not improve exercise capacity over 16 weeks. These results do not support use of oral iron supplementation in patients with HFrEF. Trial Registration: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT02188784

Coronary endothelial dysfunction in patients with acute-onset idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy

AbstractObjectives. This study sought to determine whether coronary endothelial dysfunction exists in patients with acute-onset idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and to explore its relation to recovery of left ventricular systolic function in this patient population.Background. Coronary endothelial dysfunction exists in chronic DCM, but its importance in the development and progression of ventricular dysfunction is not known. To address this issue we studied coronary endothelial function in patients with idiopathic DCM <6 months in duration and explored the relation between coronary endothelial function and subsequent changes in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF).Methods. Ten patients with acute-onset idiopathic DCM (duration of heart failure symptoms 2.0 ± 0.4 months [mean ± SEM]) and 11 control patients with normal left ventricular function underwent assessment of coronary endothelial function during intracoronary administration of the endothelium-dependent vasodilator acetylcholine and the endothelium-independent vasodilator adenosine. Coronary cross-sectional area (CSA) was determined by quantitative coronary angiography and coronary blood flow (CBF) by the product of coronary CSA and CBF velocity measured by an intracoronary Doppler catheter. Patients with DCM underwent assessment of left ventricular function before and several months after the study.Results. Acetylcholine infusion produced no change in coronary CSA in control patients but significant epicardial constriction in patients with DCM (−36 ± 11%, p < 0.01). These changes were associated with increases in CBF in control patients (+118 ± 49%, p < 0.01) but no change in patients with DCM. Infusion of adenosine produced increases in coronary caliber and blood flow in both groups. Follow-up assessment of left ventricular function was obtained in nine patients with DCM 7.0 ± 1.7 months after initial study, at which time LVEF had improved by ≥0.10 in four patients. Multiple linear regression revealed a positive correlation between both the coronary CSA (r2 = 0.57, p < 0.05) and CBF (r2 = 0.68, p < 0.01) response to acetylcholine and the subsequent improvement in LVEF.Conclusions. Coronary endothelial dysfunction exists at both the microvascular and the epicardial level in patients with acute-onset idiopathic DCM. The preservation of coronary endothelial function in this population is associated with subsequent improvement in left ventricular function

Cofilin-2 Phosphorylation and Sequestration in Myocardial Aggregates Novel Pathogenetic Mechanisms for Idiopathic Dilated Cardiomyopathy

AbstractBackgroundRecently, tangles and plaque-like aggregates have been identified in certain cases of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), traditionally labeled idiopathic (iDCM), where there is no specific diagnostic test or targeted therapy. This suggests a potential underlying cause for some of the iDCM cases.ObjectivesThis study sought to identify the make-up of myocardial aggregates to understand the molecular mechanisms of these cases of DCM; this strategy has been central to understanding Alzheimer’s disease.MethodsAggregates were extracted from human iDCM samples with high congophilic reactivity (an indication of plaque presence), and the findings were validated in a larger cohort of samples. We tested the expression, distribution, and activity of cofilin in human tissue and generated a cardiac-specific knockout mouse model to investigate the functional impact of the human findings. We also modeled cofilin inactivity in vitro by using pharmacological and genetic gain- and loss-of-function approaches.ResultsAggregates in human myocardium were enriched for cofilin-2, an actin-depolymerizing protein known to participate in neurodegenerative diseases and nemaline myopathy. Cofilin-2 was predominantly phosphorylated, rendering it inactive. Cardiac-specific haploinsufficiency of cofilin-2 in mice recapitulated the human disease’s morphological, functional, and structural phenotype. Pharmacological stimulation of cofilin-2 phosphorylation and genetic overexpression of the phosphomimetic protein promoted the accumulation of “stress-like” fibers and severely impaired cardiomyocyte contractility.ConclusionsOur study provides the first biochemical characterization of prefibrillar myocardial aggregates in humans and the first report to link cofilin-2 to cardiomyopathy. The findings suggest a common pathogenetic mechanism connecting certain iDCMs and other chronic degenerative diseases, laying the groundwork for new therapeutic strategies

Human Cardiac-Specific cDNA Array for Idiopathic Dilated Cardiomyopathy: Sex-Related Differences

Idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDCM) constitutes a large portion of patients with heart failure of unknown etiology. Up to 50% of all transplant recipients carry this clinical diagnosis. Female-specific gene expression in IDCM has not been explored. We report sex-related differences in the gene expression profile of ventricular myocardium from patients undergoing cardiac transplantation. We produced and sequenced subtractive cDNA libraries, using human left ventricular myocardium obtained from male transplant recipients with IDCM and nonfailing human heart donors. With the resulting sequence data, we generated a custom human heart failure microarray for IDCM containing 1,145 cardiac-specific oligonucleotide probes. This array was used to characterize RNA samples from female IDCM transplant recipients. We identified a female gene expression pattern that consists of 37 upregulated genes and 18 downregulated genes associated with IDCM. Upon functional analysis of the gene expression pattern, deregulated genes unique to female IDCM were those that are involved in energy metabolism and regulation of transcription and translation. For male patients we found deregulation of genes related to muscular contraction. These data suggest that 1) the gene expression pattern we have detected for IDCM may be specific for this disease and 2) there is a sex-specific profile to IDCM. Our observations further suggest for the first time ever novel targets for treatment of IDCM in women and men

Isosorbide Mononitrate in Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction.

BACKGROUND: Nitrates are commonly prescribed to enhance activity tolerance in patients with heart failure and a preserved ejection fraction. We compared the effect of isosorbide mononitrate or placebo on daily activity in such patients. METHODS: In this multicenter, double-blind, crossover study, 110 patients with heart failure and a preserved ejection fraction were randomly assigned to a 6-week dose-escalation regimen of isosorbide mononitrate (from 30 mg to 60 mg to 120 mg once daily) or placebo, with subsequent crossover to the other group for 6 weeks. The primary end point was the daily activity level, quantified as the average daily accelerometer units during the 120-mg phase, as assessed by patient-worn accelerometers. Secondary end points included hours of activity per day during the 120-mg phase, daily accelerometer units during all three dose regimens, quality-of-life scores, 6-minute walk distance, and levels of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP). RESULTS: In the group receiving the 120-mg dose of isosorbide mononitrate, as compared with the placebo group, there was a nonsignificant trend toward lower daily activity (-381 accelerometer units; 95% confidence interval [CI], -780 to 17; P=0.06) and a significant decrease in hours of activity per day (-0.30 hours; 95% CI, -0.55 to -0.05; P=0.02). During all dose regimens, activity in the isosorbide mononitrate group was lower than that in the placebo group (-439 accelerometer units; 95% CI, -792 to -86; P=0.02). Activity levels decreased progressively and significantly with increased doses of isosorbide mononitrate (but not placebo). There were no significant between-group differences in the 6-minute walk distance, quality-of-life scores, or NT-proBNP levels. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with heart failure and a preserved ejection fraction who received isosorbide mononitrate were less active and did not have better quality of life or submaximal exercise capacity than did patients who received placebo. (Funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02053493.)

Combining multivariate statistics and the think-aloud protocol to assess Human-Computer Interaction barriers in symptom checkers

[EN] Symptom checkers are software tools that allow users to submit a set of symptoms and receive advice related to them in the form of a diagnosis list, health information or triage. The heterogeneity of their potential users and the number of different components in their user interfaces can make testing with end-users unaffordable. We designed and executed a two-phase method to test the respiratory diseases module of the symptom checker Erdusyk. Phase I consisted of an online test with a large sample of users (n = 53). In Phase I, users evaluated the system remotely and completed a questionnaire based on the Technology Acceptance Model. Principal Component Analysis was used to correlate each section of the interface with the questionnaire responses, thus identifying which areas of the user interface presented significant contributions to the technology acceptance. In the second phase, the think-aloud procedure was executed with a small number of samples (n = 15), focusing on the areas with significant contributions to analyze the reasons for such contributions. Our method was used effectively to optimize the testing of symptom checker user interfaces. The method allowed kept the cost of testing at reasonable levels by restricting the use of the think-aloud procedure while still assuring a high amount of coverage. The main barriers detected in Erdusyk were related to problems understanding time repetition patterns, the selection of levels in scales to record intensities, navigation, the quantification of some symptom attributes, and the characteristics of the symptoms. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.This work was supported by Helse Nord [grant HST1121-13], the Faculty of Health Sciences from UIT The Arctic University of Norway [researcher code 1108], and The Research Council of Norway [grant 248150/O70]. We thank Professor Emeritus Rafael Romero-Villafranca for reviewing the statistical analysis of this paper.Marco-Ruiz, L.; Bones, E.; De La Asuncion, E.; Gabarron, E.; Aviles-Solis, JC.; Lee, E.; Traver Salcedo, V.... (2017). Combining multivariate statistics and the think-aloud protocol to assess Human-Computer Interaction barriers in symptom checkers. Journal of Biomedical Informatics. 74:104-122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbi.2017.09.002S1041227