Changes in the Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction and Natriuretic Peptides in Heart Failure Patients with Moderately Reduced and Preserved Ejection Fraction Treated Following Transvenous Stimulation of the Phrenic Nerve for Central Sleep Apnea

Introduction: Sudden death due to ventricular arrhythmias (VA) is one of the main causes of mortality in patients with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Ventricular fibrosis in HFpEF has been suspected as a substrate of VA, but the degree of fibrosis has not been well characterized. Hypothesis: HFpEF patients with increased degree of fibrosis will manifest more VA. Methods: Cedars-Sinai medical records were probed using Deep 6 artificial intelligence data extraction software to identify patients with HFpEF who underwent cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MRI of identified patients were reviewed to measure extra-cellular volume (ECV) and degree of fibrosis. Ambulatory ECG monitoring (Ziopatch) of those patients were also reviewed to study the prevalence of arrhythmias. Results: A total of 12 HFpEF patients who underwent cardiac MRI were identified. Patients were elderly (mean age 70.3 ± 7.1), predominantly female (83%), and overweight (mean BMI 32 ± 9). Comorbidities included hypertension (83%), dyslipidemia (75%), and coronary artery disease (67%). Mean left ventricular ejection fraction by echocardiogram was 63 ± 8.7%. QTc as measured on ECG was not significantly prolonged (432 ± 15 ms). ECV was normal in those patients for whom it was available (24.2 ± 3.1, n = 9) with 3/12 patients (25%) demonstrating ventricular fibrosis by MRI (average burden of 9.6 ± 5.9%). Ziopatch was obtained in 8/12 patients (including all 3 patients with fibrosis) and non-sustained ventricular tachycardia (NSVT) was identified in 5/8 (62.5%). One patient with NSVT and without fibrosis on MRI also had a sustained VA recorded. In those patients who had Ziopatch monitoring, there was no association between presence of fibrosis and NSVT (X2 = 0.035, p = 0.85). Conclusions: Ventricular fibrosis was present in 25% of HFpEF patients in this study and NSVT was observed in 62.5% of those patients with HFpEF who had Ziopatch monitoring. The presence of fibrosis by Cardiac MRI was not associated with NSVT in this study; however, the size of the cohort precludes broadly generalizable conclusions about this association. Further investigation is required to better understand the relationship between ventricular fibrosis by MRI and VA in patients with HFpEF.

Download Full-text

Strong risk factors for depression and anxiety in heart failure patients

Pakistan BioMedical Journal ◽

10.52229/pbmj.v4i2.70 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Naila Niaz ◽

Syed Muhammad Faraz Ali ◽

Attaullah Younas ◽

Tallat Anwar Faridi ◽

Asif Hanif

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Heart Failure ◽

Ejection Fraction ◽

Left Ventricular ◽

Left Ventricular Ejection ◽

Anxiety And Depression ◽

Team Approach ◽

Depression And Anxiety ◽

Ventricular Ejection Fraction ◽

Heart Failure Patients

Despite advancing medical technology, Heart Failure (HF) is still a prevalent disease with high mortality and high health expenditure. To improve patient outcome and prognosis, it is important to identify the association of risk factors which leads to the co-morbid depression and anxiety in heart failure patients. Objectives: To determine the association of depression and/or anxiety with age, gender and ejection fraction in heart failure patients. Methods: It is an analytical cross sectional study including 323 CHF patients who visited the to the Faisalabad Institute of Cardiology hospital Out-Patient Department, 250 were males and 73 were females, mean age was 54.1 ± 9.2 years having 70 years as maximum and 25 years as minimum. Data collection was done using Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) questionnaire to assess depression and anxiety. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 24. For quantitative data, mean and standard deviation was calculated and for qualitative data frequency and percentages was calculated. To measure the association of anxiety and depression with age categories, ejection fraction and gender, chi square test was used. P values less than and equal to 0.05 were taken as significant. Results: No association of depression and anxiety with gender and Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction (LVEF) was observed. However, depression and anxiety were found to be significantly associated with age Conclusions: The study concluded that age is a strong risk factor of depression and anxiety in congestive heart failure patients. Multidisciplinary health care team approach and interventions are required to cater chronic heart failure (CHF) patients to address the psychological burden.

Download Full-text