Characteristics of clinical drugs for elderly chronic heart failure complicated with different degrees of renal insufficiency

Objective: To investigate the characteristics of clinical therapeutic drugs in elderly chronic heart failure [CHF] patients complicated with different degrees of renal insufficiency

Methods: The elderly patients who were hospitalized from October 2010 to October 2015 in our hospital due to CHF for the first time were selected by means of retrospective case collection. The glomerular filtration rate was estimated by using the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease [MDRD] Study equation. The patients were divided into a group with normal renal function, a group with slight decrease in renal function, and a group with moderate and severe decrease in renal function. Statistical analysis was made to compare the characteristics of clinical drugs for the three groups

Results: Compared with the normal renal function group and the slight decrease group, ACEIs and beta-blockers were less used in the moderate and severe decrease group, but diuretics and spironolactone were more used [P<0.05]. Compared with the normal renal function group, the use rate of ACEIs was low whereas that of diuretics was high [P<0.05]

Conclusion: ACEIs and beta-blockers were barely employed to treat elderly CHF patients complicated with renal insufficiency, but diuretics and spironolactone were frequently utilized

Association of glomerular filtration rate with arterial stiffness in Chinese women with normal to mildly impaired renal function / 老年心脏病学杂志（英文版）

Objective Both decreased glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and arterial stiffness were considered as risk factors for atherosclerosis. Previous studies have suggested the association between central arterial stiffness and the degree of GFR loss. Whether decreased GFR contributes to peripheral artery stiffness remains controversial. Moreover, data analyzed from a cohort of Chinese women are rare. Our aim was to explore the relationship between GFR and regional arterial stiffness in Chinese women. Methods In this cross-sectional study, we randomly recruited 1131 adult women residents with GFR ≥ 60 mL/min per 1.73 m2 estimated by the Chinese Modification of Diet in Renal Disease equation from three large communities. Central and peripheral arterial stiffness were estimated simultaneously by measuring carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWVcf) and carotid-radial PWV (PWVcr) using a validated automatic device. Augmentation Index at heart rate 75 beats/minutes (AIx-75) was measured by pulse wave analysis as a composite parameter reflecting both large and distal arterial properties. Results The mean estimated GFR (eGFR) of the study group was 100.05 ± 23.26 mL/minute per 1.73 m2. Subjects were grouped by tertiles of eGFR level. PWVcf and AIx-75 increased ongoing from the top to the bottom eGFR tertile, while the values of PWVcr were comparable. Both univariate Pearson correlations and multiple stepwise regression analyses showed that eGFR significantly correlated to PWVcf, but not to PWVcr and AIx-75. Conclusions In Chinese women with normal to mildly impaired renal function, decreased eGFR affected carotid-to-femoral rather than carotid-to-radial stiffening. This provides rational to conduct future prospective studies to investigate predictors of atherosclerosis in this population.