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Background. Heart failure (HF) is a disease with a high prevalence in the elderly population. Problems posed by HF diagnosis and management within this special category validate the interest in studying ways to improve the quality and duration of life in these patients. Aim. To determine the prognostic accuracy of certain clinical and laboratory parameters and to predict mortality rates in elderly patients with HF. Study design. It is a cohort, analytical, prospective, observational, crosssectional study conducted between 2006- 2008. Data regarding patient survival over a period of six months were recorded from the moment of enrollment. Subjects and methods. The study group consisted of 177 patients of over 65 years of age admitted to geriatrics, internal medicine and cardiology units, diagnosed with HF. A series of clinical and laboratory data from these patients has been examined, including NT-proBNP and CRP. Results. CRP levels higher than 3.57 mg/dL determined a hazard ratio (HR) of 3.9 (CI95% 1 - 15.2, p=0.04), urea levels higher than 79 mg/dL determined a HR of 8.8 (CI95% 1.1 - 37.4, p=0.003) and NT-proBNP levels higher than 9370 pg/ mL determined a HR of 18.6 (CI95% 5.2 - 66.2, p<0.001). After multiple comparison adjustments (Bonferroni correction), only urea and NT-proBNP remained independent variables predicting 6-month mortality in elderly patients with HF. Conclusion. High NT-proBNP and urea levels were independent predictors for mortality in elderly patients with heart failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Inflammation plays a major role in the development of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its progression. Recent studies have shown that pentraxin-3 (PTX-3), osteoprogerin (OPG), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) are key factors in MetS pathophysiology, but evidence for endorsing their clinical use is currently unclear and insufficient., Aim: The study aimed to evaluate the association between the inflammatory biomarkers' levels and the severity of MetS., Methods: The study was observational, transversal, prospective, cohort, and analytical type. We enrolled 80 patients (M:F = 1, mean age = 55 ± 10.77 years) who met MetS criteria. The study protocol included: medical history, physical examination, 6-min walk test distance (6MWTD), biochemical tests, electrocardiogram, echocardiography, and carotid ultrasonography. We also performed plasmatic measurement of PTX-3, OPG, and TNF-α, in addition to standard biochemical tests., Results: Subjects with severe MetS had higher values of body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference ( p  < 0.001, p  = 0.001). PTX-3 levels were significantly higher in patients with severe MetS ( p  = 0.03) and the values were not influenced by age or gender. OPG positively correlated with BMI ( r  = 0.264, p  = 0.018). 6MWTD was lower in patients with severe MetS ( p  = 0.005), whereas CCA-IMT was higher in this group of patients ( p  = 0.005). In addition, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis for PTX-3 identified a cut-off value of 10.7 ng/dl that differentiates between mild and severe MetS [AUC 0.656; sensitivity =47.1% (95% CI = 36.1%-62.3%); specificity = 78.9% (95% CI = 54.4%-93.9%)]., Conclusion: PTX-3 was correlated with the severity of MetS, with other inflammatory parameters and cardiovascular tests. CCA-IMT and 6MWTD are useful in differentiating between mild and severe MetS.