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Worsening heart failure (HF) is associated with a high risk of death and rehospitalization. Despite that, real world evidence about the impact of worsening HF on clinical practice is scarce. A narrative review about registries addressing recent worsening HF events in Spain, with special emphasis on patients recently hospitalized for HF was performed. Worsening HF can be defined as situations where the patient's HF deteriorates to the extent that it necessitates initiation or intensification of diuretic treatment (mainly intravenous). The events can occur at the outpatient level, generally in the day hospital, in the emergency department or even hospitalization. Early identification of worsening HF events is essential to establish appropriate treatment as soon as possible. In this context, robust clinical benefits have been reported for renin-angiotensin system inhibitors, sacubitril-valsartan, beta-blockers, mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists, SGLT2 inhibitors, and vericiguat. In Spain, several registries of patients with HF have been developed, some of them including patients recently hospitalized for HF, but not with recent worsening HF events. Therefore, registries addressing recent worsening events would be desirable. Using a practical approach, this review analyzes the importance of worsening HF events, with special emphasis on Spanish data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Aims: Hyperkalaemia (HK) is common in heart failure (HF) patients, related to renal dysfunction and medical treatment. It limits medical therapy optimization, which impacts prognosis. New potassium (K) binders help control HK, allowing better medical management of HF. Methods and results: A retrospective multicentre register included all outpatients with HF and HK (K ≥ 5.1 mEq/L) treated with patiromer according to current recommendations. We evaluated analytic and clinical parameters before starting the treatment and at 7, 30 and 90 days, as well as adverse events related to patiromer and treatment optimization. We included 74 patients (71.6% male) with a mean age of 70.8 years (SD 9.2). Sixty‐seven patients (90.5%) presented HK in the previous year. Forty patients (54.1%) underwent down‐titration of a renin–angiotensin–aldosterone inhibitor (RAASi) or a mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist (MRA), and 27 (36.5%) stopped any of them due to HK. Initial K was 5.5 mEq/L (SD 0.6), with a significantly reduction at 7 days (4.9 mEq/L (SD 0.8); P < 0.001), maintained at 90 days (4.9 mEq/L (SD 0.8); P < 0.001). There were no other electrolyte disturbances, with a slight improvement in renal function [glomerular filtration rate 39.6 mL/min (SD 20.4) to 42.7 mL/min (SD 23.2); P = 0.005]. Adverse events were reported in 33.9% of patients, the most common being hypomagnesaemia (16.3%), gastrointestinal disturbances (14.9%) and HK (2.8%). Withdrawal of patiromer was uncommon (12.2%) due to gastrointestinal disturbances in 66.7% of cases. Nine patients (12.2%) started on a RAASi, and 15 patients (20.3%) on an MRA during the follow‐up. Forty‐five patients (60.8%) increased the dose of RAASi or MRA, increasing to target doses in 5.4 and 10.8% of patients, respectively. At 90 days, NTproBNP values were reduced from 2509.5 pg/mL [IQR 1311–4,249] to 1396.0 pg/mL [IQR 804–4263]; P = 0.003, but the reduction was only observed in those who optimized HF medical treatment [NTproBNP from 1950.5 pg/mL (IQR 1208–3403) to 1349.0 pg/mL (IQR 804–2609); P < 0.01]. NYHA functional class only improved in 7.5% of patients, corresponding with those who optimized HF medical treatment. Compared with the previous 3 months before patiromer treatment, the rate of hospitalization was reduced from 28.4 to 10.9% (P < 0.01), and the emergency room visits from 18.9 to 5.4% (P < 0.01). Conclusions: In a real‐life cohort of patients with HF, patiromer reduced and maintained K levels during 3 months of follow‐up. The most common adverse events were hypomagnesaemia and gastrointestinal disturbances. Patiromer helps optimize medical treatment, increasing the percentage of patients treated with RAASi and MRA at target doses. At the end of follow‐up, natriuretic peptides values and hospital visits were reduced, suggesting the benefit of optimizing HF medical treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Española de Cardiología (18855857) is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Aims Methods and results Conclusions Combination of hypertonic saline solution (HSS) with intravenous loop diuretics has been suggested to improve diuretic response in patients hospitalized for heart failure (HF). The efficacy and safety of this approach in the ambulatory setting remain unexplored.In this multicentre, double‐blind, randomized study, we allocated ambulatory patients with worsening heart failure (WHF) to a 1‐h infusion of intravenous furosemide (ivFurosemide)‐HSS versus ivFurosemide. The primary endpoint was the volume of diuresis at 3 h. Secondary endpoints included 3‐h natriuresis and weight variation, 7‐day congestion data, kidney function and electrolytes, and 30‐day clinical events. Overall, 167 participants (median age: 81 years, 30.5% female) were randomized across 13 sites between December 2020 and March 2023. There were no differences in 3‐h diuresis between treatments (ivFurosemide‐HSS: 1099 ml vs. ivFurosemide: 1103 ml, p = 0.963), 3‐h natriuresis (∆ +2.642 mEq/L, p = 0.559), or 3‐h weight (∆ +0.012 kg, p = 0.920). Patients in the ivFurosemide‐HSS arm experienced significant weight decrease at 7 days (Δ −0.586 kg, p = 0.048). There were no between‐treatment differences in clinical congestion score, biomarkers, inferior vena cava diameter, or the presence of lung ultrasound B‐lines. At 30 days, 26.5% of the patients in the ivFurosemide‐HSS group versus 33.3% in the ivFurosemide group experienced WHF (hazard ratio 0.76, p = 0.330). The incidence of death from any cause or HF hospitalization was 6% of patients in the ivFurosemide‐HSS group and 8.3% of patients in the ivFurosemide group (hazard ratio 0.69, p = 0.521). The incidence of worsening kidney function or metabolic derangements was not significantly different in the two arms.A single infusion of ivFurosemide‐HSS did not improve 3‐h diuresis or congestion parameters in patients with ambulatory WHF. This therapy showed an appropriate safety profile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Takotsubo syndrome (TTS) is a reversible heart failure syndrome that frequently manifests with symptoms and electrocardiogram (ECG) changes that mimic those of an acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Historically, coronary artery disease (CAD) has been regarded as an exclusion criterion in the diagnosis of TTS. However, recent reports have challenged this viewpoint, suggesting that the two conditions may coexist. The present case series provides evidence that not only is TTS able to coexist with CAD, but that an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) can act as a trigger for the development of TTS., Competing Interests: Human subjects: Consent was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work., (Copyright © 2024, González Alirangues et al.)

Introduction: Frailty is common among patients with heart failure (HF). Our aim was to address the role of frailty in the management and prognosis of elderly men and women with HF., Methods and Results: Prospective multicenter registry that included 499 HF outpatients ≥75 years old. Mean age was 81.4 ± 4.3 years, and 193 (38%) were women. Compared with men, women were older (81.9 ± 4.3 vs. 81.0 ± 4.2 years, p = 0.03) and had higher left ventricular ejection fraction (46 vs. 40%, p < 0.001) and less ischemic heart disease (30 vs. 57%, p < 0.001). Women had a higher prevalence of frailty (22 vs. 10% with Clinical Frailty Scale, 34 vs. 15% with FRAIL, and 67% vs. 46% with the mobility visual scale, all p -values < 0.001) and other geriatric conditions (Barthel index ≤90: 14.9 vs. 6.2%, p = 0.003; malnutrition according to Mini Nutritional Assessment Short Formulary ≤11: 55% vs. 42%, p = 0.007; Pfeiffer cognitive test's errors: 1.6 ± 1.7 vs. 1.0 ± 1.6, p < 0.001; depression according to Yesavage test; p < 0.001) and lower comorbidity (Charlson index ≥4: 14.1% vs. 22.1%, p = 0.038). Women also showed worse self-reported quality of life (6.5 ± 2.1 vs. 6.9 ± 1.9, on a scale from 0 to 10, p = 0.012). In the univariate analysis, frailty was an independent predictor of mortality in men [Hazard ratio (HR) 3.18, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.29-7.83, p = 0.012; HR 4.53, 95% CI 2.08-9.89, p < 0.001; and HR 2.61, 95% CI 1.23-5.43, p = 0.010, according to FRAIL, Clinical Frailty Scale, and visual mobility scale, respectively], but not in women. In the multivariable analysis, frailty identified by the visual mobility scale was an independent predictor of mortality (HR 1.95, 95% CI 1.04-3.67, p = 0.03) and mortality/readmission (HR 2.06, 95% CI 1.05-4.04, p = 0.03) in men., Conclusions: In elderly outpatients with HF frailty is more common in women than in men. However, frailty is only associated with mortality in men., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Díez-Villanueva, Jiménez-Méndez, Bonanad, Ortiz-Cortés, Barge-Caballero, Goirigolzarri, Esteban-Fernández, Pérez-Rivera, Cobo, Sanz-García, Formiga, Ariza-Solé, Martínez-Sellés and Alfonso.)