Catarina Sousa

Nutritional status of geriatric outpatients with systolic heart failure and its prognostic value regarding death or hospitalization, biomarkers and quality of life

IntroductionThe prevalence of malnutrition in ambulatory patients with heart failure is difficult to determine, depending on the timing and methodology.ObjectiveTo determine the nutritional status of outpatients with systolic heart failure with the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) full and short-form versions, and evaluate its relationship with the short-term prognosis, biomarkers and quality of life.MethodsFifty consecutive (70% male), geriatric (74.3+ 6.2years old) stable outpatient with heart failure (NYHA class II 68%, III 32%) and left ventricular ejection fraction of 26.7 +11.5% were included and followed during 12 months. At a routine visit to the heart failure clinic, the MNA, the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure questionnaire (MLHFQ) were applied. According to the MNA screening score the nutritional status was classified using the MNA full (MNA-F) and the short-form (MNA-F) versions of the questionnaire. The recorded events were death and hospitalization. Statistics: The-survival and hospitalizations curves were evaluated with the Log-Rank test and Cox Regression analysis. The association between parameters was analyzed with the Pearson and Spearmann correlation coefficient.Results(1) The mortality and hospitalization rates were 12% and 42%, respectively. (2) With the MNA-SF 7.6% of the patients had malnutrition and 20% were at risk of malnutrition. There was a good agreement (90%) between the MNA-SF and the MNA-F classifications. (3) There was a significant relationship between the MNA screening score and the MLHFQ (rs= −0.592 p<0.00l), Nt-ProBNP (rs= −0.49 p<0.001) and total plasma protein (r= 0.672 p=0.006); (3) The-MNA-SF nutritional classification was associated with the 12 months survival (Log-Rank p=0.044) and hospitalization (Log-Rank p=0.005) curves. (4) Those patients with malnutrition by the MNA-SF were at greater risk of death (HR= 8.0 p=0.059) and hospitalization (HR 8.1 p=0.008).ConclusionThe MNA is useful for the evaluation of the nutritional status of elderly outpatients with systolic heart failure. It is a good predictor of the short-term outcome and is also associated with the quality of life and Nt-ProBNP.

Disfunção sistólica ventricular esquerda detetada por speckle tracking em hipertensos com fração de ejeção preservada

INTRODUCTION The spectrum of hypertensive heart disease is wide, and can include left ventricular dysfunction. The development of echocardiographic parameters to improve patient stratification and to identify early adverse changes could be clinically useful. Aim To identify subclinical left ventricular dysfunction in hypertensive subjects with preserved ejection fraction (>55%), identified by global parameters of myocardial strain on speckle tracking imaging. METHODS This was a comparative observational study of two groups of individuals: normotensive (n=20, age 59 ± 7 years, 55% male) and hypertensive (n=229, age 62 ± 12 years, 57% male). Left ventricular function was assessed by various conventional clinical and echocardiographic parameters and global longitudinal and circumferential myocardial strain. Cut-off values to detect subclinical left ventricular dysfunction were established and applied in the hypertensive group. The Students t test, Mann-Whitney test and chi-square test were used for the comparative statistical analysis. RESULTS Most hypertensive subjects (53.7%) had grade I hypertension; blood pressure was controlled in 64.9%, and 54.8% showed left ventricular structural changes. Comparison between the normotensive and hypertensive groups showed no significant differences in parameters of global longitudinal or circumferential systolic strain. Application of the cut-offs to the hypertensive group identified 35 individuals (15.3%) as having subclinical left ventricular systolic dysfunction as assessed by global longitudinal myocardial strain parameters. CONCLUSIONS In this group of hypertensive patients, global myocardial strain parameters identified a group of individuals with subclinical left ventricular systolic dysfunction despite preserved ejection fraction. The clinical relevance of these findings needs to be assessed in long-term follow-up studies.

Dangerous mistake: an accidental caffeine overdose

Caffeine (1,3,7-trimethylxanthine) is a natural product commonly presented in food’s composition, beverages and medicinal products. Generally, it is thought to be safe under normal dosage, yet it can be fatal in case of severe intoxication. We report a case of a healthy 32-year-old woman who went to the local emergency department (ED) 30 min after ingesting, accidentally, 5000 mg of anhydrous caffeine for a preworkout supplement. At the ED, she presented an episode of presyncope followed by agitation. ECG showed polymorphic broad complex QRS tachycardia and arterial blood gas revealed metabolic acidaemia with severe hypokalemia. The dysrhythmia was successfully treated with intravenous propranolol. Acid–base and hydroelectrolytic disorders were also corrected. A persistent sinus tachycardia was observed in the first 2 days in the ward and 5 days later she was discharged asymptomatic with internal medicine follow-up.

Bilateral aneurysmatic coronary artery-pulmonary artery trunk fistulae

A 54-year-old asymptomatic woman presented to our echocardiography department for assessment of a continuous heart murmur. The transthoracic echocardiogram in parasternal short-axis view (Figure 1A) revealed a tunnellike communication between the pulmonary artery trunk and the pericardial space (maximum width 8 mm). Color Doppler showed turbulent flow and pulsed wave Doppler showed typical continuous flow (Figure 1B). No valvular abnormalities were noted. There was a normal balance between the right and left ventricle, with preserved global systolic function. The estimated shunt by Qp/Qs was 1.3:1.0. The cardiac computed tomography scan revealed a large coronary artery fistula (CAF) between the left descending coronary artery and pulmonary artery trunk and also an aneurysmatic, tortuous CAF between the right coronary artery and pulmonary artery trunk (Figure 1C--F). A maximal exercise test was performed that excluded myocardial ischemia. She is currently asymptomatic and no cardiac events were noted in two-year follow-up. We present this case because bilateral coronary to pulmonary artery fistulae are a very rare entity. CAFs found