Right ventricular to pulmonary artery coupling and outcome in patients with cardiac amyloidosis.

AIMS: To investigate the prognostic value of the right ventricle-to-pulmonary artery (RV-PA) coupling in patients with either transthyretin (ATTR) or immunoglobulin light-chain (AL) cardiac amyloidosis (CA). METHODS AND RESULTS: Overall, 283 patients with CA from 3 Italian high-volume centres were included (median age 76 years; 63% males; 53% with ATTR-CA, 47% with AL-CA). The RV-PA coupling was evaluated by using the tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion/pulmonary artery systolic pressure (TAPSE/PASP) ratio. The median value of TAPSE/PASP was 0.45 (0.33-0.63) mm/mmHg. Patients with a TAPSE/PASP ratio <0.45 were older, had lower systolic blood pressure, more severe symptoms, higher cardiac troponin and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide levels, greater left ventricular (LV) thickness, and worse LV systolic and diastolic function. A TAPSE/PASP ratio <0.45 was independently associated with a higher risk of all-cause death or heart failure (HF) hospitalization [hazard ratio (HR) 1.98, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.32-2.96; P = 0.001] and all-cause death (HR 2.18, 95% CI 1.31-3.62; P = 0.003). The TAPSE/PASP ratio reclassified the risk of both endpoints [net reclassification index 0.46 (95% CI 0.18-0.74) P = 0.001 and 0.49 (0.22-0.77) P < 0.001, respectively], while TAPSE or PASP alone did not (all P > 0.05). The prognostic impact of the TAPSE/PASP ratio was significant both in AL-CA patients (HR for the composite endpoint 2.47, 95% CI 1.58-3.85; P < 0.001) and in ATTR-CA (HR 1.81, 95% CI 1.11-2.95; P = 0.017). The receiver operating characteristic curve showed that the optimal cut-off for predicting prognosis was 0.47 mm/mmHg. CONCLUSION: In patients with CA, RV-PA coupling predicted the risk of mortality or HF hospitalization. The TAPSE/PASP ratio was more effective than TAPSE or PASP in predicting prognosis.

Prognostic value of right ventricular longitudinal strain in patients with secondary mitral regurgitation undergoing transcatheter edge-to-edge mitral valve repair.

AIMS: To evaluate the prognostic impact of pre-procedural right ventricular longitudinal strain (RVLS) in patients with secondary mitral regurgitation (SMR) undergoing transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER) in comparison with conventional echocardiographic parameters of RV function. METHODS AND RESULTS: This is a retrospective study including 142 patients with SMR undergoing TEER at two Italian centres. At 1-year follow-up 45 patients reached the composite endpoint of all-cause death or heart failure hospitalization. The best cut-off value of RV free-wall longitudinal strain (RVFWLS) to predict outcome was -18% [sensitivity 72%, specificity of 71%, area under curve (AUC) 0.78, P < 0.001], whereas the best cut-off value of RV global longitudinal strain (RVGLS) was -15% (sensitivity 56%, specificity 76%, AUC 0.69, P < 0.001). Prognostic performance was suboptimal for tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion, Doppler tissue imaging-derived tricuspid lateral annular systolic velocity and fractional area change (FAC). Cumulative survival free from events was lower in patients with RVFWLS ≥ -18% vs. RVFWLS < -18% (44.0% vs. 85.4%; < 0.001) as well as in patients with RVGLS ≥ -15% vs. RVGLS < -15% (54.9% vs. 81.7%; P < 0.001). At multivariable analysis FAC, RVGLS and RVFWLS were independent predictors of events. The identified cut-off of RVFWLS and RVGLS both resulted independently associated with outcomes. CONCLUSION: RVLS is a useful and reliable tool to identify patients with SMR undergoing TEER at high risk of mortality and HF hospitalization, on top of other clinical and echocardiographic parameters, with RVFWLS offering the best prognostic performance.

[Advances in heart failure treatment: a summary of 50 years of evolution]. / Progressi nella terapia dello scompenso cardiaco: la continua evoluzione degli ultimi 50 anni.

Management of heart failure is one of the most important challenges of modern medicine. Heart failure affects a large number of patients worldwide and its prevalence is increasing. The adoption of the methodology of randomized controlled trials has led to the identification of drugs and devices that prolong life and, in many cases, also yield a better quality of life. Improvement in the diagnostic techniques and devices has also led to better treatment of most major comorbidities, another strong driver of patient's symptoms and natural history. This article aims to provide an overview of the key events that have led to such improvement.

In-hospital and long-term mortality for acute heart failure: analysis at the time of admission to the emergency department.

AIMS: Acute heart failure (AHF) leads to a drastic increase in mortality and rehospitalization. The aim of the study was to identify prognostic variables in a real-life population of AHF patients admitted to the emergency department with acute shortness of breath. METHODS AND RESULTS: We evaluated potential predictors of mortality in 728 consecutive patients admitted to the emergency department with AHF. Possible predictors of all-cause and cardiovascular (CV) mortality were investigated by Cox and Fine and Gray models at multivariable analysis. Among the 728 patients, 256 died during the entire follow-up, 142 of these due to CV cause. The 1 year mortality rate was 20%, with the highest risk of death during the index hospitalization (with 8% estimate in-hospital mortality at 30 days). A higher risk of events during the index hospitalization was more evident for the CV deaths, for which we found a cumulative 1 year incidence of 12% with a cumulative incidence in the first 30 days of hospitalization of about 5%. At multivariable analysis, age (P < 0.001), New York Heart Association (NYHA) class IV vs. I-II-III (P = 0.001), systolic blood pressure (P < 0.001), non-cardiac co-morbidities (≥3 vs. 0, P = 0.05), oxygen saturation (P = 0.03), serum creatinine (P < 0.001), and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (40-49% vs. <40%, P = 0.004; ≥50% vs. <40%, P = 0.003) were independent predictors of all-cause mortality during the entire follow-up. Age (P = 0.03), systolic blood pressure (P = 0.01), oxygen saturation (P = 0.03), serum creatinine (P = 0.02), and LVEF (40-49% vs. <40%, P = 0.03; ≥50% vs. <40%, P = 0.004) were independent predictors of CV mortality during the entire follow-up. NYHA class IV vs. I-II-III (P < 0.001), serum creatinine (P = 0.01), and LVEF (40-49% vs. <40%, P = 0.02; ≥50% vs. <40%, P < 0.001) remained independent predictors for in-hospital death, while only serum creatinine (P = 0.04), LVEF (40-49% vs. <40%: 0.32, P = 0.04; ≥50% vs. <40%, P < 0.001), and NYHA class vs. I-II-III (P = 0.02) remained predictors for in-hospital CV mortality. CONCLUSIONS: In this real-life cohort of patients with AHF, the results showed a similar mortality rate comparing with other analysis and with the most important registries. Age, NYHA class IV, systolic blood pressure, creatinine levels, sodium levels, and ejection fraction were independent predictors of 1 year mortality, while LVEF <40% was the only predictor of both all-cause mortality and CV mortality.