The "2022 AHA/ACC/HFSA guideline for the management of heart failure" replaces the "2013 ACCF/AHA guideline for the management of heart failure" and the "2017 ACC/AHA/HFSA focused update of the 2013 ACCF/AHA guideline for the management of heart failure". The 2022 guideline is intended to provide patient-centric recommendations for clinicians to prevent, diagnose and manage patients with heart failure. Heart failure remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally. The 2022 heart failure guideline provides recommendations based on contemporary evidence for the treatment of these patients. The recommendations present an evidence-based approach to manage patients with heart failure, with the intent to improve quality of care and align with patients’ interests. New recommendations have been created when supported by published data. Value statements are provided for certain treatments with high-quality published economic analyses. This article summarized and interpreted the new concept of heart failure in 2022 guidelines, especially the new evidence and suggestions related to cardiac surgery.
Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of trimetazidine (TMZ) for chronic congestive heart failure. Methods We searched The Cochrane Library (Issue 3, 2006), MEDLINE (1990-2006), EMBASE (1990-2004), and the Chinese Biomedicine Database (1990- 2006 ) for parallel group randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and cross-over design trials comparing TMZ and placebo or open controls for patients with heart failure.We used The Cochrane Collaboration’s RevMan 4.2 software for data analyses. Results Four RCTs and two cross-over design trials were included. Meta-analyses showed that: compared with the control group, TMZ may improve the NYHA cardiac functional grade (RR 0.85, 95%CI 0.76 to 0.95), increase the total exercise time (WMD 51.40 seconds, 95%CI 15.56 to 87.25), the maximal metabolic equivalents (WMD 0.82, 95%CI 0.28 to 1.37), and the ejection fraction (WMD 7.29%, 95%CI 6.28 to 8.31), but may decrease the left ventricular end-diastolic volume (WMD –12.19 ml, 95%CI –15.29 to –9.09), the left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (WMD –6.05 mm, 95%CI –7.10 to –4.99), the left ventricular end-systolic volume (WMD –16.94 ml, 95%CI –20.34 to –13.55), the left ventricular end-systolic diameter (WMD –5.42 mm, 95%CI –5.98 to –4.86), and the serum brain natriuretic peptide (WMD –239.59 pg/ml, 95%CI –276.53 to –202.65). TMZ may also improve the quality of life (WMD 12.36, 95%CI 5.16 to 19.55). Conclusions TMZ plus standard medical therapy has a beneficial effect on the indices of cardiac function, and may also improve the patient’s quality of life. However, because available RCTs for this systematic review are too small and poor quality, (mainly focusing on the heart failure induced by ischemic heart diseases and merely taking intermediate indices as outcome measures), further high-quality large-scale RCTs with death as the endpoint and which include subgroup analysis of non-ischemic heart failure, are required in order to provide more reliable evidence.
Objective To report a reliable left heart failure model in sheep using selected ligation of the diagonal branch. Methods Four male sheep were used. After a left anterior thoracotomy in sheep, the diagonal branch of coronary artery was ligated at a point approximately 40% of the distance from the apex to the base of the heart. Hemodynamic and echocardiography measurements were done preligation, 30 minutes and 7 days after the coronary artery of diagonal branch ligation. The electrocardiograms were obtained as needed, and cardiac function was also evaluated. The sheep were killed for postmortem examination of their hearts. Results Four sheep survived the experimental procedures. Comparing with before surgery, systemic arterial blood pressure and cardiac output were decreased, pulmonaryartery systolic pressure, pulmonary capillary wedge pressure and central venous pressure were increased at 30 min and 7 days after selected ligation of the coronary artery of diagonal branch; left ventricular end-diastolic dimension and left ventricular end-systolic dimension were increased; left ventricular ejection fraction and left ventricular fractional shortening were also decreased (Plt;0.05). Conclusion A reliable ovine model of left ventricular failure using selected ligation of the diagonal branch of the coronary artery can be achieved. This animal model is comparable to the clinical correlation.
In recent years, with the development of ultrasound technology, pulmonary ultrasound is more and more used in the evaluation of patients with heart failure. B-lines are defined as reverberation artifacts starting from the pleural line and extending to the bottom of the screen without disappearing, and moving synchronously with pleural sliding, which are proportional to extravascular lung water in congestive heart failure (CHF). B-lines have the characteristics of no attenuation and synchronous movement with pleural sliding. Pulmonary ultrasound mainly record the numbers and widths of B-lines in the areas when assessing the severity of CHF, which have the characteristics of effectivity, non-invasiveness, instantaneousness, and good repeatability. Currently, there are 4-, 8-, 12-, and 28-subdivision methods for the evaluation of CHF in the pulmonary ultrasound subdivision method. The more subdivisions are, the longer the operation time will be, and the sensitivity and specificity will be different. How to choose a subdivision method is still controversial in clinical practice. Lung ultrasound could be used alone or combined with brain natriuretic peptide, echocardiography, chest X-ray, chest CT scan, etc. in the early diagnosis, assessment of disease severity, evaluation of efficacy, and assessment of prognosis of CHF, with different advantages and disadvantages. This article reviews the application and progress of pulmonary ultrasound in CHF.
Objective To investigate the effects of noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV) on patients with acute left heart failure. Methods Twenty patients with acute left heart failure diagnosed between September 2013 and July 2014 were randomized into treatment group (n=10) and control group (n=10). Both groups used conventional sedations, diuretics and drugs that strengthened the heart and dilated the vessels, while early use of NPPV was applied in the experimental group. Arterial blood gas analysis [pH value, pressure of arterial carbon dioxide (PaCO2), and pressure of arterial oxygen (PaO2)], heart rate (HR), respiration, duration of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) stay and invasive mechanical ventilation, duration of overall mechanical ventilation, and success case numbers before and two hours after treatment were observed and analyzed. Results For the control group, two hours after treatment, PaO2 was (67.0±8.5) mm Hg (1 mm Hg=0.133 kPa), HR was (124±10) times/min, Respiration was (34±4) times/min, the duration of ICU stay was (6.0±1.1) days, invasive ventilation was for (32.0±3.1) hours, and the total time of mechanical ventilation was (32.0±3.1) hours. Those indexes for the treatment group two hours after treatment were: PaO2, (82.3±8.9) mm Hg; HR, (98±11) times/min; respiration, (24±4) times/min; the duration of ICU stay, (4.0±0.8) days; invasive ventilation time, (16.0±1.3) hours; the total time of mechanical ventilation, (26.0±1.8) hours. All the differences for each index between the two groups were statistically significant (P < 0.05). Conclusion Early application of NPPV can rapidly relieve clinical symptoms and reduce the medical cost for patients with acute left heart failure.
Objective To explore the effect of motivational interviewing (MI) on medication compliance and self-management behaviors of patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). Methods Between April 2013 and May 2015, 200 cases of CHF were randomly divided into control group (n=98) and MI group (n=102). Patients in the control group received routine nursing measures only. On the basis of routine nursing measures, patients in the MI group received MI program throughout the whole process inside and outside the hospital. The main contents of MI were medication compliance and self-management, to find the existing problems in patients’ daily living and make solutions with the patients. At the time of admission and 6 months after discharge, the Compliance Scale for Drug Treatment of Hypertension and the Self-management Scale for Patients with Heart Failure were conducted to asses the medication compliance and self-management behaviors of the two groups. Results Six months after discharge, the compliance level in the MI group was improved than that on admission with a significant difference (P<0.05), while the medication compliance in the control group was not improved significantly compared with that on admission (P>0.05). In the aspect of self-management, there was no significant difference in the control group between 6 months after discharge and on admission time (P>0.05); while the scores of diet management, drug management, symptom management, and psychological and social adjustment in the MI group (12.9±2.5, 16.1±2.8, 17.3±3.1, 17.0±2.4, respectively) were higer than those on admission (9.9±1.9, 13.3±2.7, 13.7±2.6, 12.8±2.2, respectively), with statistically significant differences (P<0.05). Conclusion MI can prompt CHF patients to improve medication compliance and the ability of self-management, and adopt a more healthy lifestyle.
We propose a control model of the cardiovascular system coupled with a rotary blood pump in the present paper. A new mathematical model of the rotary heart pump is presented considering the hydraulic characteristics and the similarity principle of pumps. A seven-order nonlinear spatial state equation adopting lumped parameter is used to describe the combined cardiovascular-pump model. Pump speed is used as the control variable. To achieve sufficient perfusion and to avoid suction, a feedback strategy based on minimum (diastolic) pump flow is used in the control model. The results showed that left ventricular assist device (LVAD) could improve hemodynamics of the cardiovascular system of the patient with heart failure in open loop. When rotation speed was 9,000 r/min, cardiac output reached 82 mL/s while the initial cardiac output was only 34 mL/s without the LVAD support. When the rotation speed was above 12 800 r/min, suction was found because the high rotating speed resulted in insufficient venous return volume. Suction was avoided by adopting the feedback control. The model reveals the interaction of LVAD and the cardiovascular system, which provides theoretical basis for the therapy of heart failure in the left ventricular and for the design of a physiological control strategy.
Dyspnea is the most common symptom in patients with acute heart failure syndrome (AHFS), and relieving dyspnea is an important goal in clinical practice, clinical trials and new drug regulatory approval. However, in clinical and scientific research, there is still no consensus on how to evaluate dyspnea, and there is still a lack of unified measurement methods. This article introduces the pathophysiological mechanism of dyspnea in acute heart failure, the measuring time of dyspnea, the posture of patients during measurement, the measuring conditions, and the common measurement methods of dyspnea in clinical trials and their advantages and disadvantages, so as to provide references for the selection of measurement methods of dyspnea in clinical trials of acute heart failure.
Although heart transplantation remains to be the optimal treatment for advanced heart failure, its use has been largely limited due to shortage of available donor organs. Over the past two decades, left ventricular assist device (LVAD) has been significantly modified in size, durability and hemocompatibility. In addition to the bridge to transplantation, LVAD has become an attractive alternative to heart transplantation for end-stage heart failure as destination therapy for unsuitable candidates. Although the performance of LVAD has been improving greatly in recent years, there are still great challenges in the management of device complications and low quality of life after implantation. This review will summarize the types of LVAD, indications for implantation, postoperative management and adverse events.
Objective To evaluate the diagnostic value of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) for cardiac dyspnea.Methods Plasma BNP levels were measured by radioimmunoassay in dyspnea patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) (n=52) or without CHF (n=30) and normal control group (n=28).Results The BNP level in dyspnea patients with CHF was significantly higher than that of dyspnea patients without CHF and normal control group [(649.80±141.72) pg/mL vs (59.08±18.60) pg/mL and (65.20±16.32) pg/mL，respectively,Plt;0.05].There was no significant difference of BNP level between dyspnea patients without CHF and normal group (Pgt;0.05).The plasma BNP level elevated with the worsening of heart failure (NYHA Classiffication).The BNP level in dyspnea patients with CHF was negatively correlated with left ventricle ejection fraction (r=－0.673，Plt;0.001).The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed that the area under the ROC curve (AUC) is 0.91(0.88-0.98，Plt;0.001) with a sensitivity of 87.2% and a specificity of 86.8% at the cutoff value of 206 pg/mL.Conclusion Measurement of plasma BNP is a rapid diagnostic method for cardiac dyspnea.