Arquivos brasileiros de cardiologia最新文献

Background: In pulmonary hypertension (PH), the identification of easily obtainable prognostic markers associated with right ventricular (RV) dysfunction and survival is needed.

Objective: To evaluate the association of red cell distribution width (RDW) with clinical, echocardiographic parameters and survival in patients with pre-capillary PH, with the development of a mortality prediction model.

Methods: Observational, longitudinal, and prospective study conducted from May 2019 to December 2022. Thirty-four patients with pre-capillary PH underwent two-dimensional echocardiography and complete blood count. A cutoff point of 14.5% was considered to define RDW as altered (≥14.5%) or normal (<14.5%). P values <0.05 were considered significant.

Results: The median RDW was 14.4%. There was a significant difference in peripheral arterial oxygen saturation (SpO2) (p=0.028), RV strain (p=0.047), and pericardial effusion (p=0.002) between the normal and elevated RDW groups. During a median follow-up of 15 months, 20.6% died. Patients with increased RDW had a shorter overall survival (44.7%, log-rank p=0.019), which was a predictor of mortality in univariate Cox regression (HR 8.55, p=0.048). The addition of RV strain <16% and SpO2 ≤93% to the model including RDW alone showed incremental value in predicting mortality (χ2=8.2, p=0.049; χ2=12.4, p=0.041), with increased area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (0.729 vs. 0.837 vs. 0.909) and decreased probability of survival (44.7% vs. 35.6% vs. 25%, log-rank p=0.019).

Conclusions: RDW provides information on the severity of pre-capillary PH by correlating with echocardiographic parameters of RV dysfunction and mortality, which is best predicted by a model including RDW, RV strain and SpO2.

Background: Evidence indicates that physical activity (PA) has a protective effect against chronic diseases, including high arterial hypertension (AH).

Objective: This study investigated, longitudinally, the association between changes in leisure time physical activity (LTPA) and the incidence of hypertension in ELSA-Brasil participants.

Methods: Data from 8,968 participants were analyzed at two different times (2008-2010 and 2012-2014). The International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), long version, was used to assess LTPA. The association between LTPA and AH was tested using Poisson regression with relative risk (RR) estimation, with a significance level of 5% and a 95% confidence interval.

Results: When the LTPA level variable was categorized as sufficient and insufficient, no statistically significant associations were found between LTPA and AH incidence as a function of changes in PA during follow-up. However, when the LTPA variable was categorized as inactive, little active, active, and very active, a statistically significant association was observed between LTPA and AH in participants classified as very physically active. The risk of AH was reduced by 35% among men RR 0.65 (95% CI 0.50-0.86) and by 66% among women RR 0.34 (95% CI 0.20-0.58) who maintained high levels of LTPA at both moments of follow-up.

Conclusion: These results suggest that maintaining high levels of PA over time is associated with a lower risk of developing AH, highlighting the importance of PA in preventing this condition, for both men and women.

Background: Heart failure (HF) is a leading cause of hospitalization and mortality worldwide and places a great economic burden on healthcare systems. Identification of prognostic factors in HF patients is of great importance to establish optimal management strategies and to avoid unnecessary invasive and costly procedures in end-stage patients.

Objectives: In the current study, we aimed to investigate the association between diastolic strain parameters including E/e' SR, and short-term outcomes in advanced HF patients.

Methods: The population study included 116 advanced HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) patients. Clinical, laboratory, and echocardiographic evaluations of the patients were performed within the first 24 hours of hospital admission. Patients were followed for one month and any re-hospitalization due to worsening of HF symptoms and any mortality was recorded. The level of significance adopted in the statistical analysis was 5%.

Results: E/e' SR was significantly higher in the patient group compared to the control group (p=0.001). During one-month follow-up, 13.8% of patients died and 37.1% of patients were rehospitalized. Serum NT-ProBNP (p=0.034) and E/e' SR (p=0.033) were found to be independent predictors of mortality and ACEİ use (p=0.027) and apical 3C strain (p=0.011) were found to be independent predictors of rehospitalization in the patient group.

Conclusion: Findings of the current prospective study demonstrate that E/e' SR measured by speckle tracking echocardiography is an independent and sensitive predictor of short-term mortality in advanced HFrEF patients and may have a role in the identification of end-stage HFrEF patients.