Left atrial dysfunction: the next key target in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction

Abstract Background Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction (HFpEF) is a growing healthcare burden and its prevalence is increasing. Diagnosing HFpEF is challenging. Lung ultrasound (LUS) and left atrial strain are promising tools to assess pulmonary congestion and left atrial dysfunction in outpatient settings in patients with suspected HFpEF. Aim To evaluate the correlation of LUS B-lines with left atrial strain in patients with HFpEF. Methods Thirty-six consecutive patients (24 women, mean age 70±6 years) with clinical signs of heart failure were prospectively enrolled. Exclusion criteria were: ejection fraction <55%, more than mild mitral and/or aortic valve disease, pulmonary disease, pulmonary arterial hypertension. Within one hour all patients underwent comprehensive echocardiographic evaluation including left atrial strain analysis (peak atrial longitudinal strain-PALS), lung ultrasound assessment of B-lines on the antero-lateral and posterior chest wall, and NT-proBNP levels. Results The mean ejection fraction was 65.5±8.6%. In 28 patients (85%) a significant number of B-lines (≥15) was observed. We found a positive correlation between the number of B-lines and NT-proBNP levels (p<0.0001, r: 0.76, Figure 1.), left atrial volume (p<0.05, r: 0.45), and PALS (p<0.05, r: −0.5, Figure 2.). We didn't found any correlation between the number of B-lines and E/e'ratio (p=0.1, r: 0.28), or between E/e' ratio and NT-proBNP level (p=0.2, r: 0.2). Conclusion LUS is a simple, feasible tool to detect pulmonary congestion in HFpEF and it seems to better characterize these patients. B-lines correlate well with NT-proBNP values and with parameters of left atrial dysfunction. PALS is a promising too which better reflects pulmonary congestion and elevated NT-proBNP values than the conventional echocardiographic parameter E/e'.

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P1586 Lung ultrasound and left atrial deformation analysis: a promising methods for the diagnosis of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction

European Heart Journal - Cardiovascular Imaging ◽

10.1093/ehjci/jez319.1006 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 21 (Supplement_1) ◽

Author(s):

G Agoston ◽

L Gargani ◽

I Szabo ◽

B Illes ◽

A Varga

Keyword(s):

Heart Failure ◽

Ejection Fraction ◽

Left Atrial ◽

Lung Ultrasound ◽

Preserved Ejection Fraction ◽

Pulmonary Congestion ◽

Left Atrial Strain ◽

Atrial Strain ◽

Left Atrial Dysfunction ◽

B Lines

Abstract Background Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction (HFpEF) is a growing healthcare burden and its prevalence is increasing. Diagnosing HFpEF is challenging. Lung ultrasound (LUS) and left atrial strain are promising screening tools to assess pulmonary congestion and left atrial dysfunction in patients with suspected HFpEF. Aim To evaluate the relationship between LUS, left atrial strain and NT-proBNP level in patients with HFpEF. Also to assess the diagnostic power of B-lines in HFpEF population. Methods Forty-seven consecutive patients (24 women, mean age 69 ± 11 years) with clinical signs of heart failure were prospectively enrolled. Exclusion criteria were: ejection fraction <55%, more than mild mitral and/or aortic valve disease, pulmonary disease, pulmonary arterial hypertension. Within one hour all patients underwent comprehensive echocardiographic evaluation including left atrial strain analysis (peak atrial longitudinal strain-PALS), lung ultrasound assessment of B-lines on the antero-lateral and posterior chest wall, and NT-proBNP levels. Results In 34 patients (72%) a significant number of B-lines (≥15) were observed. We found a positive correlation between the number of B-lines and NT-proBNP levels (p < 0,0001, r = 0,74, Figure 1.), left atrial volume (p < 0,05, r = 0,45), and PALS (p < 0,02, r = 0,4 ). We didn’t found any correlation between the number of B-lines and E/e’ ratio (p = 0,1, r = 0,28), or between E/e’ ratio and NT-proBNP level (p = 0,1, r = 0,2). We also assessed the diagnostic ability of ≥15 B-lines to predict markedly elevated pro-BNP level (≥ 220pg/ml), AUC was 0.89. If the total number of B-lines was greater or equal to 28, the sensitivity was 68% with the specificity of 100%, but if we changed the cut-off value to 12, the sensitivity grew to 89% with the specificity of 71%. (Figure 2.). Conclusion LUS is a simple, feasible tool to detect pulmonary congestion in HFpEF and it has a strong diagnostic power to predict elevated NTpro-BNP level. B-lines correlate with parameters of left atrial dysfunction. PALS is promising too, which better reflects pulmonary congestion and elevated NT-proBNP values than the conventional echocardiographic parameter E/e’. Abstract P1586 Figure. NT-pBNP vs B-lines, AUC of Blines

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March 2020 at a glance: heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, left atrial myopathy, atrial fibrillation and cardiac amyloidosis

European Journal of Heart Failure ◽

10.1002/ejhf.1509 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 22 (3) ◽

pp. 389-390

Author(s):

Marianna Adamo ◽

Carlo Mario Lombardi ◽

Marco Metra

Keyword(s):

Heart Failure ◽

Atrial Fibrillation ◽

Ejection Fraction ◽

Left Atrial ◽

Cardiac Amyloidosis ◽

Preserved Ejection Fraction

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Significance of the echocardiographic evaluation of left atrial myocardial strain for early diagnosis of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction

Kardiologiia ◽

10.18087/cardio.2021.8.n1418 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 61 (8) ◽

pp. 68-75

Author(s):

E. K. Serezhina ◽

A. G. Obrezan

Keyword(s):

Heart Failure ◽

Early Diagnosis ◽

Ejection Fraction ◽

Left Atrial ◽

Myocardial Dysfunction ◽

Systolic Dysfunction ◽

Myocardial Strain ◽

Left Ventricular ◽

Preserved Ejection Fraction ◽

Echocardiographic Evaluation

This systematic review is based on 19 studies from Elsevier, PubMed, Embase, and Scopus databases, which were found by the following keywords: LA strain (left atrial strain), STE (speckle tracking echocardiography), HF (heart failure), and HFpEF (heart failure with preserved ejection fraction). The review focuses on results and conclusions of studies on using the 2D echocardiographic evaluation of left atrial (LA) myocardial strain for early diagnosis of HFpEF in routine clinical practice. Analysis of the studies included into this review showed a significant decline of all LA functions in patients with HFpEF. Also, multiple studies have reported associations between decreased indexes of LA strain and old age, atrial fibrillation, left ventricular hypertrophy, left and right ventricular systolic dysfunction, and LV diastolic dysfunction. Thus, the review indicates significant possibilities of using indexes of LA strain in evaluation of early stages of both systolic and diastolic myocardial dysfunction. Notably, LA functional systolic and diastolic indexes are not sufficiently studied despite their growing significance for diagnosis and prognosis of patients with HFpEF. For this reason, in addition to existing models for risk stratification in this disease, including clinical characteristics and/or echocardiographic data, future studies should focus on these parameters.

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Abstract 16365: A New Left Atrial Assist Device for Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction: In Vitro Test

Circulation ◽

10.1161/circ.142.suppl_3.16365 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 142 (Suppl_3) ◽

Author(s):

Kiyotaka FUKAMACHI ◽

Barry D Kuban ◽

Christine Flick ◽

Jamshid Karimov ◽

David Horvath ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Heart Failure ◽

Aortic Valve ◽

Ejection Fraction ◽

Left Atrial ◽

In Vitro Test ◽

Preserved Ejection Fraction ◽

Normal Heart ◽

Assist Device ◽

Heart Condition

Introduction: The effective treatment for patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction is not yet established. We previously reported the concept of the left atrial assist device (LAAD) that pumps blood from the left atrium to the left ventricle to treat diastolic heart failure (DHF). We have now developed the first working prototype of the LAAD that can be implanted at the mitral valve level (Fig. 1). The purpose of the study was to demonstrate that the LAAD can reduce left atrial pressure (LAP) and increase cardiac output (CO) while maintaining arterial pulsatility and normal aortic valve function in the in vitro DHF model. Methods: The LAAD was tested at three pump speeds (3,600, 4,400 and 5,200 rpm) on a pulsatile mock loop with a pneumatic pump that simulated the normal function of the native ventricle, as well as mild, moderate, and severe DHF conditions, by adjusting the diastolic drive pressure to limit diastolic filling of the ventricle. Results: Without the LAAD, CO and aortic pressure (AoP) decreased dramatically: from 3.9 L/min and 102 mm Hg at normal heart condition to 1.0 L/min and 33 mm Hg at severe DHF, respectively (Fig. 2A, 2B). With LAAD support, both CO and AoP recovered to normal heart values at 4,200 rpm and surpassed normal heart values at 5,200 rpm (Fig. 2A, 2B). With LAAD support, LAP recovered to that of the normal heart condition at 5,200 rpm (Fig. 2C). The pulsatility was maintained (Fig. 2D), as all the CO went through the aortic valve. Conclusions: These initial in vitro results support our hypothesis that use of the LAAD increases CO and AoP and decreases LAP under DHF conditions, while maintaining arterial pulsatility and full function of the aortic valve.

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