Mitral regurgitation severity dynamic during acute decompensated heart failure treatment

Acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) treatment leads to significant hemodynamic changes. The aim of our study was to quantitatively analyze the dynamics of mitral regurgitation (MR) severity (evaluated by transthoracic echocardiography) which occur during the treatment of ADHF and to correlate these changes with the clinical condition of patients as well as heart failure biochemical markers. The study included 27 consecutive adult patients (40.7% females, mean age 71.19 ± 11.2 years) who required hospitalization due to signs of acute HF. Echocardiographic assessment was performed upon admission and discharge together with clinical and laboratory evaluation. Significant reduction in dyspnea intensity [0–100 scale] (81.48 ± 9.07 vs. 45.00 ± 11.04 pts, p < 0.001), body weight (84.98 ± 18.52 vs. 79.77 ± 17.49 kg, p < 0.001), and NT-proBNP level (7520.56 ± 5288.62 vs. 4949.88 ± 3687.86 pg/ml, p = 0.001) was found. The severity of MR parameters decreased significantly (MR volume 44.92 ± 22.83 vs. 30.88 ± 18.77 ml, p < 0.001; EROA 0.37 ± 0.17 vs. 0.25 ± 0.16 cm2, p < 0.001; VC 6.21 ± 1.48 vs. 5.26 ± 1.61 mm, p < 0.001). Left atrial area (35.86 ± 9.11 vs. 32.47 ± 9.37, p < 0.001) and mitral annular diameter (42.33 ± 6.63 vs. 39.72 ± 5.05. p < 0.001) also underwent statistically significant reductions. An increase in LVEF was observed (34.73 ± 13.88 vs. 40.24 ± 13.19%, p < 0.001). In 40.7% of patients, a change in MR severity class (transition from a higher class to a lower one) was observed: 6/8 (75%) patients transitioned from severe to moderate and 6/18 (33.3%) patients transitioned from moderate to mild class. Treatment of ADHF leads to a significant reduction in MR severity, together with significant reductions in left atrial and mitral annular dimensions. Quantitative measurement of MR dynamics offer valuable assistance for ADHF management.

746 Assessment of intracardiac fluid-dynamics of patients with aortic stenosis

Aims Recent technological developments enabled visualization of intracardiac flow patterns. This study aims to evaluate intracardiac flow dynamics of patients with aortic stenosis (AS). Methods and results Sixty-one patients with severe AS and 38 healthy sex- and BSA-matched controls (CTRL) were prospectively included. Standard echocardiographic assessment was performed in all patients. Fluid dynamics were evaluated using the HyperDoppler software to measure vortex area (VA), vortex length (VL), and vortex depth (VD). The assessment of VA, VL, and VD was feasible and reliable, as the inter-rater variability (ICCs) were very good for VA (0.878, P = 0.033), VL (0.960, P = 0.004), and VD (0.905, P = 0.021). Mean VA, VL, and VD (P = 0.033, P = 0.026, and P &gt; 0.001, respectively) were significantly larger in AS patients compared with CTRL. A significant difference in the delta values of VA and VL, reflecting their change from before to after TAVI, was observed in patients with and without significant paravalvular leak. Conclusions The newly developed quantitative indices of flow dynamics, namely VA, VL, and VD, were significantly increased in the LV of patients with severe AS compared to controls and their measurement was feasible and reliable in a clinical setting.

528 Advanced echocardiographic assessment in outpatients with advanced heart failure undergoing periodical levosimendan infusion

Aims The long-term clinical effects of Levosimendan in patients (pts) with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) are mainly mediated by its long-acting metabolite, OR-1896, whose half-life is much longer (81 h vs. 1–1.5 h), although with similar inotropic and vasodilatory effect. Echocardiographic data are still lacking, expecially in the chronic setting. Global longitudinal strain (GLS) and left ventricular myocardial work index (LVMWI) are novel non-invasive methods for left ventricle (LV) function evaluation that consider myocardial deformation and afterloads using LV strain combined with the non-invasive estimation of LV pressure. The aim of this study was to perform an echocardiographic assessment in pts with advanced HFrEF before and after infusion of Levosimendan in a chronic setting, using GLS and LVMWI. Methods and results 6 pts with ischaemic HFrEF were prospectively enrolled in the study. Echo-data were collected from all patients using a Vivid E95 system (GE Healthcare), before and after the end of infusion (24–48 h). Moreover, 4 pts underwent another echo evaluation 96 h after the infusion to assess the long term effect of OR-1896. Although mean end-diastolic volume decreased after 24–48 h, increased after 96 h, as reported in Table 1. As to the Ejection Fraction (EF), strain-parameters and stroke volume (SV) remain unchanged before and after the infusion. Similarly LVMWI-derived parameters also remain overall unchanged (Table 1). Conclusions In pts with ischaemic HFrEF undergoing periodical infusion of Levosimendan, we very preliminary observed a reduction of LV size short after the infusion, which interestingly do not persist after 96 h. The other considered echocardiographic parameters (EF, SV, strain-derived parameters) did not show significant differences before and after the infusion. An explanation is that Levosimendan improves LV congestion but not the contractile force in pts with advanced HFrEF, whose myocardial performance is too compromised. Therefore the haemodynamic benefits observed chronically in pts with Levosimendan might be due to the initial decongestion and its vasodilatory effect, and it may not persist in mid-term, depending on basal myocardial conditions. Larger studies should be conducted to conferm these findings.