Heart Transplantation in Pediatric Population and in Adults With Congenital Heart Disease: Long-term Follow-up,Critical Clinical Analysis,and Perspective for the Future

Background

Heart transplantation is a treatment option for children as well as for adults with congenital heart disease.

Objective

To report the experience of a tertiary center with heart transplant program in pediatric population and in adults with congenital heart disease.

Patients and Methods

The study consisted of the evaluation of pediatric as well as adult patients undergoing heart transplantation for congenital heart disease. We evaluated the following indication and complications such as renal dialysis, graft vascular disease, tumors and survival.

Results

From October 1992 to November 2013, 134 patients had transplantation, and there were 139 transplantations and 5 retransplantations. The immunosuppression regimen is based on calcineurin inhibitors and cytostatic drugs. The type of heart disease indicated for transplantation was cardiomyopathies in 70% and congenital heart disease in 30%. Of these 134 patients, 85 patients were alive. Actuarial survival is 77.4%, 69.6%, 59.3% at 1, 5, and 10 years after transplantation. Three patients underwent renal transplantation, 1 patient is in renal dialysis, and 8.2% of patients had post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease. Two patients had retransplantation for graft vascular disease; 1 of them required a simultaneous kidney transplant and died 30 days after the procedure and 1 patient is clinically well 2 years after retransplantation.

Conclusion

Heart transplantation in children and in adults with congenital heart disease is a promising therapeutic option and enables long-term survival for these patients.     

How Heart Rate Should Be Controlled in Patients with Atherosclerosis and Heart Failure

Purpose of Review

Resting heart rate is an independent risk factor for all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in patients with heart failure. The main objectives are to discuss the prognosis of heart rate, its association with coronary atherosclerosis, and the modalities of control of the heart rate in sinus rhythm and in the rhythm of atrial fibrillation in patients with chronic heart failure.

Recent Findings

As a therapeutic option for control heart rate, medications such as beta-blockers, digoxin, and finally ivabradine have been studied. Non-dihydropyridine calcium channel blockers are contraindicated in patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction. The influence of the magnitude of heart rate reduction and beta-blocker dose on morbidity and mortality will be discussed. Regarding the patients with heart failure and atrial fibrillation, there are different findings in heart rate control with the use of a beta-blocker. Patients eligible for ivabradine have clinical benefits and increased ejection fraction. Vagal nerve stimulation has low efficacy for the control of heart rate. Complementary therapies such as tai chi and yoga showed no effect on heart rate.

Summary

In this review, we discuss the main therapeutic options for the control of heart rate in patients with atherosclerosis and heart failure. More research is needed to examine the effects of therapeutic options for heart rate control in different population types, as well as their effects on clinical outcomes and impact on morbidity and mortality.

     

Respira project: Humanistic and economic burden of asthma in Brazil

Objective: To determine the association of asthma on health-related quality of life (QoL), productivity, and use of healthcare resources among adults in Brazil. Methods: Data were analyzed from the 2015 Brazil National Health and Wellness Survey, a cross-sectional survey with 12,000 adult respondents. Asthma and control groups were compared with respect to health-related QoL, asthma control, work productivity, and adherence. Generalized linear models were developed to compare asthma-related associations controlling for potential confounding factors. Results: Among respondents, 4.1% (n = 494) reported an asthma diagnosis; those without asthma symptoms were used as the control group (n = 11,487). Regarding asthma control, 51.2% of patients had uncontrolled asthma, 36.4% partially controlled asthma, and 12.3% were fully controlled. Short-acting β2 agonists were the most commonly used class of drugs (38.5%). Approximately 32.4% of asthma patients were considered fully adherent to their treatment. In multivariable analyses, asthma patients presented lower health-related QoL and had more frequent visits with medical healthcare providers (6.1 versus 4.2) emergency room visits (1.0 versus 0.5), and more hospitalizations (0.4 versus 0.2), than control respondents six months prior to the study (p < 0.05). Rates of absenteeism and presenteeism varied between 11.5% and 7.4% (p < 0.05) and 30.4% and 20.9% (p < 0.001) between asthma patients and controls, respectively. Conclusions: Asthma had a negative association on health-related QoL, work productivity, and use of healthcare resources. Excessive use of short-acting β2 agonists and poor treatment adherence reflect poor asthma control and suggest the need to implement new strategies for asthma treatment in Brazil.