Impact of the sustained control of cardiovascular risk factors on first episode heart failure: The relevant role of primary care

Background: The role of cardiovascular risk factor control in the development of heart failure (HF) has not yet been clearly established.

Objective: To determine the effect of cardiovascular risk factor control on the occurrence of a first episode of hospital admission for HF.

Methods: A case-control study using propensity score-matching was carried out to analyse the occurrence of first hospital admission for HF taking into account the degree of cardiovascular risk factor control over the previous 24 months. All patients admitted to the cardiology unit of the Hospital del Mar between 2008 and 2011 because of a first episode of HF were considered cases. Controls were selected from the population in the hospital catchment area who were using primary care services. Cardiovascular risk factor measurements in the primary healthcare electronic medical records prior to the first HF episode were analysed.

Results: After the matching process, 645 participants were analysed (129 HF cases and 516 controls). Patients suffering a first HF episode had modest increments in body mass index and blood pressure levels during the previous two years. Adjusted odds ratio for experiencing a first HF hospital admission episode according to systolic blood pressure levels and body mass index was (OR: 1.031, 95% CI: 1.001–1.04), and (OR: 1.09, 95% CI: 1.03–1.15), respectively.

Conclusion: Increased levels of body mass index and systolic blood pressure during the previous 24 months may determine a higher risk of having a first HF hospital admission episode.     

Complete heart block and death following lamotrigine overdose

Context.?Lamotrigine is used for both seizure and psychiatric disorders. Overdoses typically follow a benign course. Case details.?A 19-year-old male with bipolar disorder ingested 4?g of lamotrigine. The patient suffered from multiple seizures, charcoal aspiration, respiratory arrest, prolongaton of the QRS interval on electrocardiogram, complete heart block, multiorgan failure and ultimately death. Discussion.?We describe the emergency department (ED) and ICU course for this patient and briefly review the toxic effects of lamotrigine and the pharmacokinetics with and without hemodialysis.     

Rheumatic heart disease and risk of incident heart failure among community-dwelling older adults: A prospective cohort study

Abstract

Background. Little is known about the association of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) with incident heart failure (HF) among older adults.

Design. Cardiovascular Health Study, a prospective cohort study.

Methods. Of the 4,751 community-dwelling adults ≥ 65 years, free of prevalent HF at baseline, 140 had RHD, defined as self-reported physician-diagnosed RHD along with echocardiographic evidence of left-sided valvular disease. Propensity scores for RHD, estimated for each of the 4,751 participants, were used to assemble a cohort of 720, in which 124 and 596 participants with and without RHD, respectively, were balanced on 62 baseline characteristics.

Results. Incident HF developed in 33% and 22% of matched participants with and without RHD, respectively, during 13 years of follow-up (hazard ratio when RHD was compared to no-RHD 1.60; 95% confidence interval 1.13–2.28; P = 0.008). Pre-match unadjusted, multivariable-adjusted, and propensity-adjusted hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) for RHD-associated incident heart failure were 2.04 (1.54–2.71; P < 0.001), 1.32 (1.02–1.70; P = 0.034), and 1.55 (1.14–2.11; P = 0.005), respectively. RHD was not associated with all-cause mortality (HR 1.09; 95% CI 0.82–1.45; P = 0.568).

Conclusion. RHD is an independent risk factor for incident HF among community-dwelling older adults free of HF, but has no association with mortality.     

Metabolic profile of patients after heart transplantation

Orthotopic heart transplantation improves life expectancy and quality of life in patients with severe heart failure. After transplantation, metabolic complications are frequent. They are caused particularly by immunosuppressive therapy. In our cohort of 315 patients, 52% of patients had diabetes mellitus together with hyperlipoproteinemia, 41% of patients had hyperlipoproteinemia without diabetes, 3% of patients had diabetes mellitus without hyperlipoproteinemia and only 4% of patients had none of these disorders. Therapeutic options with respect to interactions with immunosuppressive therapy are discussed in this article.     

心力衰竭患儿左室非同步运动与二尖瓣环运动速度的定量组织速度成像研究

目的探讨心力衰竭患儿左室非同步运动与二尖瓣环运动速度之间的关系。方法健康小儿40例,心力衰竭患儿30例,获取标准心尖四腔和两腔观。①在多普勒组织速度成像（DTI）状态下,测量左室后间隔、侧壁、前壁、下壁收缩期和舒张早期频谱中的峰值速度（Vs、Ve）,计算四个壁Vs和Ve均值;②QTVI状态下,测量并计算左心室四个壁12节段同步性指标Ts、Te的最大差值Max－△Ts和Max－△Te。同时测量左心功能指标左室射血分数（LVEF）。结果心力衰竭组Max—△Ts和Max—△Te明显大于正常对照组,差异有统计学意义（P〈0．01）;Vs、Ve的均值明显低于正常对照组,P〈0．01;直线相关分析显示MeanVs与Max—△Ts、MeanVe与Max－△Te、Max—△Ts与LVEF相关性好。结论心力衰竭患儿左室内心肌存在非同步运动现象,与二尖瓣环运动速度相关性好,可导致心功能下降。     

外科手术制备先天性心脏病动物模型的研究进展

小儿先天性心脏病研究领域中动物模型的制备非常困难，目前尚无公认的方法，本文从外科手术制作方法的角度，综述了近年的研究进展，探讨了多种术式在临床应用的前景，为深入开展先天性心脏病发病机制，病理生理变化及治疗的分子，基因水平研究提供基础。     

64层螺旋CT对心功能不全患者冠状窦的评价

目的探讨64层CT冠状动脉血管成像(CTA)评价冠状窦(CS)的可行性,并观察心功能不全患者冠状窦口(CSO)的形态学变化。方法将24例经CTA证实无心脏和冠状动脉疾病的患者和24例不同程度充血性心功能不全患者的冠状动脉CTA检查数据进行图像处理,主要评价CS的图像质量、长度、CSO的直径和横截面积、冠状窦瓣的显示率,并比较心功能正常患者和充血性心功能不全患者的CSO大小有无差异。结果所有患者CS的图像质量评分均达3分,并均有较高的对比噪声比(CNR),心功能正常组CS平均长度(34.3±16.3)mm,与心功能不全组无显著差异(P>0.05),心功能不全组的CSO上下径和横截面积明显大于心功能正常组(P<0.05)。结论64层螺旋CT血管成像可以清晰显示CS,并能够对CSO的大小进行精确测量;心功能不全患者的CSO扩张,其上下径和横截面积大于心功能正常组。     

早孕期超声检查胎儿颈项透明层厚度 心率及心轴对胎儿先天性心脏病的预测价值

目的 探讨早孕期超声检查胎儿颈项透明层（NT）厚度、心率及心轴对胎儿先天性心脏病的预测价值。方法 选择2015年7月1日至2017年7月1日就诊于安徽医科大学第二附属医院的168例孕龄12～14周孕妇（均为单胎妊娠）,采用彩色多普勒超声测定胎儿NT、心率、心轴,所有孕妇均随访至分娩后1周,统计胎儿发生先天性心脏病的例数,绘制ROC曲线,分析NT厚度、心率及心轴对胎儿先天性心脏病的预测价值。结果 NT预测胎儿先天性心脏病ROC曲线下面积为0.895（P<0.001）,NT预测胎儿先天性心脏病最佳截点为2.995 mm,此时灵敏度为0.882,特异度为0.961;心轴预测胎儿先天性心脏病ROC曲线下面积为0.657（P=0.021）,心轴预测胎儿先天性心脏病最佳截点为50.891度,此时灵敏度为0.643,特异度为0.598;心率预测胎儿先天性心脏病ROC曲线下面积为0.616（P=0.045）,心率预测胎儿先天性心脏病最佳截点为179次/分钟,此时灵敏度为0.556,特异度为0.879。结论 孕早期NT厚度、心率及心轴检查对预测胎儿先天性心脏病及心脏畸形具有一定临床意义,其中NT厚度预测价值最大。