ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and left ventricular dysfunction have a varied clinical course, not only dependent on left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and symptoms. Finding prognostic markers for stratification in these 2 conditions is a critical area of research. Our aim was determine the prognostic value of blood panel basic parameters. METHODS: We analyzed all patients with idiopathic or familial DCM and LVEF <30% coming to our heart failure unit for evaluation for non-urgent heart transplant during the period of 2009 to 2011. With 5 years of follow-up data, we could study the prognostic value of blood panel parameters. Moreover, we determined the combination of platelet count and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio score from the BIOSTAT-CHF study. RESULTS: Eighty-seven patients were included in the study. After 5 years follow-up, 49 patients (57%) remain alive (group A) and 38 (43%) either died or needed a heart transplant. There were no differences between groups with regard to age or sex. Patients with good progress showed a lower red cell distribution width (RDW), a higher lymphocyte count, and a lower neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio in the initial blood panel. An RDW ≥15% was associated with long-term mortality or heart transplant. CONCLUSION: A basic blood panel could be a useful tool in assessing patients with heart failure. Larger studies are necessary to confirm our findings. A multimarker strategy could also be useful for stratification of patients with advanced heart failure.
Subject(s)
Biomarkers/blood , Cardiomyopathy, Dilated/blood , Heart Failure/blood , Erythrocytes/pathology , Female , Heart Transplantation , Humans , Lymphocyte Count , Male , Middle Aged , Neutrophils , Platelet Count , PrognosisABSTRACT
The CentriMag (Levitronix LLC, Waltham, MA, USA) ventricular assist device is a centrifugal pump designed for short-term support in patients with cardiogenic shock. In patients with restrictive physiology, there is some concern about the use of these devices due a very small ventricular cavity. We review the evolution of a 32-year-old woman with restrictive cardiomyopathy, moderate pulmonary hypertension, and severe biventricular systo-diastolic dysfunction in whom a biventricular Centrimag device was implanted due to a progressive clinical worsening.
Subject(s)
Cardiomyopathy, Restrictive/therapy , Heart-Assist Devices , Adult , Female , HumansABSTRACT
Noncompaction cardiomyopathy involves an infrequent pathology whose diagnosis has been rising in recent years owing to a better understanding of the disease and, therefore, better diagnosis. Today, there are no well established protocols for its treatment. For this reason, it is necessary to adapt the therapy of choice to each patient. We report the case of a 35-year-old man with no past medical history of interest who was admitted due to acute pulmonary edema. Diagnostic tests revealed noncompaction cardiomyopathy with biventricular severe systolic dysfunction. In this situation, heart transplantation was considered to be the best therapeutic option, which was carried out with an uneventful postoperative course. This is one of the few cases reported in the literature for this issue.
Subject(s)
Cardiomyopathies/complications , Cardiomyopathies/diagnosis , Heart Defects, Congenital/complications , Heart Failure/etiology , Adult , Cardiomyopathies/surgery , Heart Defects, Congenital/diagnosis , Heart Defects, Congenital/surgery , Heart Failure/diagnosis , Heart Failure/surgery , Heart Transplantation , Humans , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Male , Pulmonary Edema/diagnosis , Pulmonary Edema/etiology , Severity of Illness Index , Treatment Outcome , Ventricular Dysfunction, Left/diagnosis , Ventricular Dysfunction, Left/etiology , Ventricular Dysfunction, Right/diagnosis , Ventricular Dysfunction, Right/etiologyABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Despite an increase in patients with end-stage heart failure, the acceptance rate has been going down in recent years owing to a change in donor demographics. Furthermore, the rate of emergency heart transplantation has progressively increased. The result is an increase in the time awaiting heart transplantation in elective patients and therefore in the risk of sudden death in this population. Implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) could be a preventive option in these cases. However, indications for the implantation in this population are not well established. OBJECTIVE: We sought to evaluate the effectiveness of ICDs for primary prevention in patients with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≤ 30% included on the heart transplantation list. METHODS: Records from patients accepted for heart transplantation in our institution from January 1, 2006, to July 30, 2012, and whose LVEF was <31% were reviewed. Patients who received ICDs for primary prevention (n = 28) were compared with patients without ICDs (n = 51). Descriptive and univariate (χ(2) and t tests) statistics and Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used for analyses. RESULTS: With a median follow-up of 77 days (range 1-1,231), the overall mortality in the ICD group was 7.1% (2/28) and in the non-ICD group was 17.6% (9/51; P = .062). The main cause of death in patients without ICDs was sudden death (5/9, 55.6%), followed by heart failure (4/9, 44.4%). In patients with ICDs, heart failure was the only reported cause of death. Appropriate ICD therapies were recorded in 42.9% (12/28) in this population. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that ICD could reduce the risk of sudden death in patients with LVEF ≤ 30% while awaiting heart transplantation. However, more studies are needed to confirm these results.
