Search

Overview of: Butler J, Anker SD, Lund LH, et al Patiromer for the management of hyperkalemia in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction: the DIAMOND trial. Eur Heart J 2022. doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehac401 [Epub ahead of print, 2022 Jul 28]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing awareness that heart failure, renal impairment, and anaemia are frequent co-morbidities which can exacerbate one another in a vicious circle of clinical deterioration has led to the concept of the cardiorenal anaemia syndrome (CRAS). The role of iron deficiency within this complex interplay has been less well examined. Scrutiny of data from the recent FAIR-HF trial raises a new hypothesis: is it time for 'CRAS' to be supplemented with new acronyms such as CRIDS (cardiorenal-iron deficiency syndrome) or even CRAIDS (cardiorenal-anaemia-iron deficiency syndrome)? Iron deficiency occurs frequently in heart failure patients with or without anaemia. It not only impairs oxygen transport through reduced erythropoiesis, but adversely affects oxidative metabolism, cellular energetics, and immune mechanisms, and the synthesis and degradation of complex molecules such as DNA. One large observational study in patients with heart failure found iron deficiency to be an independent predictor of death or urgent heart transplantation (hazard ratio 1.58, 95% confidence interval 1.14-2.17, P = 0.005). In the FAIR-HF trial, i.v. iron therapy was associated with significant improvements in physical functioning in iron-deficient patients with heart failure, even in non-anaemic patients in whom haemoglobin levels did not change following i.v. iron administration. Key questions regarding the use of i.v. iron supplementation in the setting of heart failure merit exploration and could readily be answered by appropriately designed clinical trials. It is to be hoped that these important clinical trials are conducted, to permit a more subtle characterization of the patient's pathological condition and interventional requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Iron is an indispensable element of hemoglobin, myoglobin, and cytochromes, and, beyond erythropoiesis, is involved in oxidative metabolism and cellular energetics. Hence, iron deficiency (ID) is anticipated to limit exercise capacity. We investigated whether ID predicted exercise intolerance in patients with systolic chronic heart failure (CHF). METHODS AND RESULTS: We prospectively studied 443 patients with stable systolic CHF (age 54 ± 10 years, males 90%, ejection fraction 26 ± 7%, New York Heart Association Class I/II/III/IV 49/188/180/26). ID was defined as: serum ferritin <100 [mu]g/L or serum ferritin 100-300 [mu]g/L with serum transferrin saturation <20%. Exercise capacity was expressed as peak oxygen consumption (VO(2)) and ventilatory response to exercise (VE-VCO(2) slope). ID was present in 35 ± 4% (±95% confidence interval) of patients with systolic CHF. Those with ID had reduced peak VO(2) and increased VE-VCO(2) slope as compared to subjects without ID (peak VO(2): 13.3 ± 4.0 versus 15.3 ± 4.5 mL·min·kg, VE-VCO(2) slope: 50.9 ± 15.8 versus 43.1 ± 11.1, respectively, both P < .001, P < .05). In multivariable models, the presence of ID was associated with reduced peak VO(2) ([beta] = -0.14, P < .01 P < .05) and higher VE-VCO(2) slope ([beta] = 0.14, P < .01 P < .05), adjusted for demographics and clinical variables. Analogous associations were found between serum ferritin, and both peak VO(2) and VE-VCO(2) slope (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: ID independently predicts exercise intolerance in patients with systolic CHF, but the strength of these associations is relatively weak. Whether iron supplementation would improve exercise capacity in iron-deficient subjects requires further studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Various beta-blockers with distinct pharmacological profiles are approved in heart failure, yet they remain underused and underdosed. Although potentially of major public health importance, whether one agent is superior in terms of tolerability and optimal dosing has not been investigated. The aim of this study was therefore to compare the tolerability and clinical effects of two proven beta-blockers in elderly patients with heart failure.Methods and Results: We performed a double-blind superiority trial of bisoprolol vs. carvedilol in 883 elderly heart failure patients with reduced or preserved left ventricular ejection fraction in 41 European centres. The primary endpoint was tolerability, defined as reaching and maintaining guideline-recommended target doses after 12 weeks treatment. Adverse events and clinical parameters of patient status were secondary endpoints. None of the beta-blockers was superior with regards to tolerability: 24% [95% confidence interval (CI) 20-28] of patients in the bisoprolol arm and 25% (95% CI 21-29) of patients in the carvedilol arm achieved the primary endpoint (P= 0.64). The use of bisoprolol resulted in greater reduction of heart rate (adjusted mean difference 2.1 b.p.m., 95% CI 0.5-3.6, P= 0.008) and more, dose-limiting, bradycardic adverse events (16 vs. 11%; P= 0.02). The use of carvedilol led to a reduction of forced expiratory volume (adjusted mean difference 50 mL, 95% CI 4-95, P= 0.03) and more, non-dose-limiting, pulmonary adverse events (10 vs. 4%; P < 0.001).Conclusion: Overall tolerability to target doses was comparable. The pattern of intolerance, however, was different: bradycardia occurred more often in the bisoprolol group, whereas pulmonary adverse events occurred more often in the carvedilol group. This study is registered with controlled-trials.com, number ISRCTN34827306. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic diseases as well as aging are frequently associated with deterioration of nutritional status, loss muscle mass and function (i.e. sarcopenia), impaired quality of life and increased risk for morbidity and mortality. Although simple and effective tools for the accurate screening, diagnosis and treatment of malnutrition have been developed during the recent years, its prevalence still remains disappointingly high and its impact on morbidity, mortality and quality of life clinically significant. Based on these premises, the Special Interest Group (SIG) on cachexia-anorexia in chronic wasting diseases was created within ESPEN with the aim of developing and spreading the knowledge on the basic and clinical aspects of cachexia and anorexia as well as of increasing the awareness of cachexia among health professionals and care givers. The definition, the assessment and the staging of cachexia, were identified as a priority by the SIG. This consensus paper reports the definition of cachexia, pre-cachexia and sarcopenia as well as the criteria for the differentiation between cachexia and other conditions associated with sarcopenia, which have been developed in cooperation with the ESPEN SIG on nutrition in geriatrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Iron deficiency (ID) and anaemia are common in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). The presence of anaemia is associated with increased morbidity and mortality in CHF, and ID is a major reason for the development of anaemia. Preliminary studies using intravenous (i.v.) iron supplementation alone in patients with CHF and ID have shown improvements in symptom status. FAIR-HF (Clinical Trials.gov NCT00520780) was designed to determine the effect of i.v. iron repletion therapy using ferric carboxymaltose on self-reported patient global assessment (PGA) and New York Heart Association (NYHA) in patients with CHF and ID.Methods and Results: This is a multi-centre, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study recruiting ambulatory patients with symptomatic CHF with LVEF < or = 40% (NYHA II) or < or =45% (NYHA III), ID [ferritin <100 ng/mL or ferritin 100-300 ng/mL when transferrin saturation (TSAT) < 20%], and haemoglobin 9.5-13.5 g/dL. Patients were randomized in a 2:1 ratio to receive ferric carboxymaltose (Ferinject((R))) 200 mg iron i.v. or saline i.v. weekly until iron repletion (correction phase), then monthly until Week 24 (maintenance phase). Primary endpoints are (i) self-reported PGA at Week 24 and (ii) NYHA class at Week 24, adjusted for baseline NYHA class.Conclusion: This study will provide evidence on the efficacy and safety of iron repletion with ferric carboxymaltose in CHF patients with ID with and without anaemia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]