Francesco Orso

The real‐world evidence of heart failure: findings from 41 413 patients of the ARNO database

Patients with heart failure (HF) randomized in controlled trials are generally selected and do not fully represent the ‘real world’. The purpose of this study is to better describe the characteristics of HF by analysing administrative data of a population of nearly 2 500 000 subjects.

Relationship between cognitive function and 6-minute walking test in older outpatients with chronic heart failure

Background and aims: Cognitive decline and heart failure frequently coexist in the elderly. Although an epidemiologic association may partially explain this finding, cerebral hypoperfusion and cardioembolism have been advocated as pathophysiological links. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between mild cognitive decline and exercise capacity in older outpatients with chronic heart failure (CHF). Methods: We studied 80 elderly outpatients with stable CHF, mainly of ischemic etiology, assessing total exercise capacity with the 6-minute walking test (6MWT) and global cognitive function with the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). CHF severity, emotional status, comorbidity, disability and disease-specific quality of life were also determined at the time of enrolment. Results: A positive association was observed between the distance walked at 6MWT and MMSE score, even after adjusting for demographic parameters, indexes of CHF severity, comorbidities, level of disability, and quality of life. Conclusions: An easy and reliable measure of cardiovascular global performance is independently associated with cognitive function in older outpatients affected by CHF. In the context of global aging, this observation emphasizes the importance of a comprehensive assessment, encompassing a standard, brief and reliable cognitive evaluation, in elderly CHF outpatients.

Role of beta-blockers in patients admitted for worsening heart failure in a real world setting : data from the Italian Survey on Acute Heart Failure

Randomized trials have shown that beta‐blockers (BBs) reduce mortality in chronic heart failure (HF). Less data are available on the role of BBs in patients with acute HF, specifically if BBs should be continued or temporarily withdrawn. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of BBs on in‐hospital outcomes of patients admitted for worsening HF in a Cardiology setting.

Adiponectin in outpatients with coronary artery disease: Independent predictors and relationship with heart failure

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Chronic heart failure (HF) is characterised by a neurohormonal dysfunction associated with chronic inflammation. A role of metabolic derangement in the pathophysiology of HF has been recently reported. Adiponectin, an adipose-tissue-derived cytokine, seems to play an important role in cardiac dysfunction. We investigated the variation of circulating adiponectin in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD), with or without HF, in order to identify its independent predictors. METHODS AND RESULTS A total of 107 outpatients with CAD were enrolled in the study and divided into three groups: CAD without left ventricular systolic dysfunction (group 1); CAD with left ventricular dysfunction without HF symptoms (group 2) and CAD with overt HF (group 3). Plasma adiponectin was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Adiponectin concentrations increased progressively from group 1 (7.6 ± 3.6 ng ml⁻¹) to group 2 (9.1 ± 6.7 ng ml⁻¹) and group 3 (13.7 ± 7.6 ng ml⁻¹), with the difference reaching statistical significance in group 3 versus 1 and 2 (p < 0.001). A multivariable model of analysis demonstrated that the best predictors of plasma adiponectin were body mass index, N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. However, even after adjusting for all three independent predictors, the increase of adiponectin in group 3 still remained statistically significant (p = 0.015). CONCLUSION Our data confirm the rise of adiponectin in overt HF. The levels of circulating adipokine seem to be mainly predicted by the metabolic profile of patients and by biohumoral indicators, rather than by clinical and echocardiographic indexes of HF severity.

Relation between serum sodium levels and prognosis in outpatients with chronic heart failure: neutral effect of treatment with beta-blockers and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors

Introduction The predictive role of hyponatremia has been tested in acute and chronic heart failure. Sodium level is inversely related with renin–angiotensin–aldersterone system (RAAS) and sympathetic nervous activity but important issues remain unresolved. Our aim was to define the level of hyponatremia able to predict 1-year outcomes and investigate the relation between sodium levels and mortality and the effect of beta-blockers and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors on this relation. Methods We analyzed 4670 patients enrolled in the IN-CHF Italian Registry. We controlled the predictivity of hyponatremia, testing it either as a continuous variable and dividing the study sample into three severity groups: group 1 (≥136 mEq/l; n = 4207), group 2 (131–135 mEq/l; n = 389) and group 3 (⩽130 mEq/l; n = 74). The linearity of the relationship between sodium levels and mortality was also tested. Results Mild-to-moderate and severe hyponatremia (groups 2 and 3) independently predicted the 1-year mortality. The relation between sodium concentration and death was not linear and a decrease of 1 mEq/l of sodium increased death rate only for values of sodium 142.9 mEq/l or less. This relationship was not modified by beta-blocker and ACE inhibitor therapies. Conclusion Our data confirm the negative prognostic value of hyponatremia, even of moderate degree, independently of the use of recommended treatments for heart failure.

Adiponectin, diabetes and ischemic heart failure: a challenging relationship

BackgroundSeveral peptides, named adipokines, are produced by the adipose tissue. Among those, adiponectin (AD) is the most abundant. AD promotes peripheral insulin sensitivity, inhibits liver gluconeogenesis and displays anti-atherogenic and anti-inflammatory properties. Lower levels of AD are related to a higher risk of myocardial infarction and a worse prognosis in patients with coronary artery disease. However, despite a favorable clinical profile, AD increases in relation to worsening heart failure (HF); in this context, higher adiponectinemia is reliably related to poor prognosis. There is still little knowledge about how certain metabolic conditions, such as diabetes mellitus, modulate the relationship between AD and HF.We evaluated the level of adiponectin in patients with ischemic HF, with and without type 2 diabetes, to elucidate whether the metabolic syndrome was able to influence the relationship between AD and HF.ResultsWe demonstrated that AD rises in patients with advanced HF, but to a lesser extent in diabetics than in non-diabetics. Diabetic patients with reduced systolic performance orchestrated a slower rise of AD which began only in face of overt HF. The different behavior of AD in the presence of diabetes was not entirely explained by differences in body mass index. In addition, NT-proBNP, the second strongest predictor of AD, did not differ significantly between diabetic and non-diabetic patients. These data indicate that some other mechanisms are involved in the regulation of AD in patients with type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease.ConclusionsAD rises across chronic heart failure stages but this phenomenon is less evident in type 2 diabetic patients. In the presence of diabetes, the progressive increase of AD in relation to the severity of LV dysfunction is hampered and becomes evident only in overt HF.

Decreased usage and increased effectiveness of percutaneous coronary intervention in complex older patients with acute coronary syndromes

Background Application of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) is suboptimal in older frail individuals. This study was conducted to verify if background risk is a risk factor for underuse and diminished effectiveness of PCI in older patients. Methods An observational cohort study was conducted using data from the Acute Myocardial Infarction in Florence 2 registry, including all ACS hospitalised in 1 year in the area of Florence, Italy. Patients aged 75+ years were selected, whose background risk was stratified with the Silver Code (SC), a validated tool predicting mortality based upon administrative data. Multivariable OR for PCI application and HR for 1-year mortality by PCI usage were calculated. Results In 698 patients (358 women, mean age 83 years), of whom 176 had ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), for each point increase in SC score the odds for application of PCI decreased by 11%, whereas the hazard of 1-year mortality increased by 10%, adjusting for positive and negative predictors. PCI reduced 1-year mortality progressively more with increasing SC, with HR (95% CI) of 0.8 (0.19 to 1.21), 0.41 (0.18 to 0.45), 0.41 (0.23 to 0.74) and 0.26 (0.14 to 0.48) for SC of 0–3, 4–6, 7–10 and 11+. Conclusions Application of PCI in older ACS patients decreased with increasing background risk. This therapeutic attitude could not be justified by decreasing effectiveness of PCI in more compromised patients: conversely, application of PCI was associated with a long-term survival advantage that increased progressively with background risk, as expressed by SC.

Age-Dependent Prognostic Significance of Atrial Fibrillation in Outpatients with Chronic Heart Failure: Data from the Italian Network on Congestive Heart Failure Registry

Objectives: The role of atrial fibrillation (AF) in older patients with heart failure (HF) is controversial because many variables seem to influence their outcome. We investigated the predictivity of AF in 3 age groups of outpatients with HF. Methods: We analyzed 8,178 outpatients enrolled in the Italian Network on Congestive Heart Failure Registry with HF diagnosed according to the European Society of Cardiology criteria. A trained cardiologist established the diagnosis of AF and HF at the entry visit at each center. We stratified the population into 3 age groups, as follows: group A, ≤65 years; group B, 66–75 years, and group C, >75 years. Results: Group A was composed of 4,261 patients, 683 with AF (16.0%); in group B there were 2,651 patients, 638 with AF (24.1%), and group C was composed of 1,266 patients, 412 with AF (32.5%). The 1-year mortality rate was higher in AF patients in all groups. In a multivariate model, AF remained an independent risk factor for death in groups A and B, but not in group C [group A: hazard ratio (HR) 1.42, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.10–1.81; group B: HR 1.29, 95% CI 1.00–1.67; group C: HR 1.05, 95% CI 0.78–1.43]. Conclusion: The prevalence of AF increased with age and was associated with a higher mortality rate. However, AF independently predicted all-cause mortality only in patients aged ≤75 years.

Cardiac Rehabilitation in Very Old Adults: Effect of Baseline Functional Capacity on Treatment Effectiveness

To assess the effect of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) and identify predictors of changes in functional capacity with CR in a consecutive series of older adults with a recent cardiac event.

Resistin level in coronary artery disease and heart failure: the central role of kidney function.

Objectives The aim of this study was to evaluate resistin levels in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) with or without chronic heart failure, in order to define its independent predictor. Methods One hundred and seven outpatients with CAD were enrolled in the study and divided into three groups: CAD without left-ventricular systolic dysfunction (group 1); CAD with left-ventricular dysfunction without heart failure symptoms (group 2); CAD with overt heart failure (group 3). Plasma resistin was determined by ELISA. Results Resistin progressively increased from group 1 (10.7 ± 5.0 ng/ml) to groups 2 (11.8 ± 5.8 ng/ml) and 3 (17.0 ± 6.8 ng/ml), with the difference reaching statistical significance in group 3 versus groups 1 and 2 (P = 0.001). A multivariable model of analysis demonstrated that the best predictor of plasma resistin level was the estimated glomerular filtration rate (P < 0.001), indicating that reduction of kidney function was the main cause of the adipokine increase observed in patients with CAD and overt heart failure. Conclusions Our data confirm the rise of resistin plasma levels previously described in patients affected by chronic heart failure; however, in our study, this relationship seemed to be mediated mainly by the level of kidney function, and only partially by the severity of ventricular dysfunction.