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Current American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association/Heart Rhythm Society (ACC/AHA/HRS) and European Society of Cardiology (ESC) guidelines recommend different strategies to avoid low-yield admissions in patients with syncope.The purpose of this study was to directly compare the safety and efficacy of applying admission criteria of both guidelines to patients presenting with syncope to the emergency department in 2 multicenter studies.The international BASEL IX (BAsel Syncope EvaLuation) study (median age 71 years) and the U.S. SRS (Improving Syncope Risk Stratification in Older Adults) study (median age 72 years) were investigated. Primary endpoints were sensitivity/specificity for the adjudicated diagnosis of cardiac syncope (BASEL IX only) and 30-day major adverse cardiovascular events (30d-MACE).Among 2560 patients in the BASEL IX and 2085 in SRS studies, ACC/AHA/HRS and ESC criteria recommended admission for a comparable number of patients in BASEL IX (27% vs 28%), but ACC/AHA/HRS criteria less often in SRS (19% vs 32%; P.01). Recommendations were discordant in ∼25% of patients. In BASEL IX, sensitivity for cardiac syncope and 30d-MACE among patients without admission criteria was comparable for ACC/AHA/HRS and ESC criteria (64% vs 65%, P = .86; and 67% vs 71%, P = .15, respectively). In SRS, sensitivity for 30d-MACE was lower with ACC/AHA/HRS (54%) vs ESC criteria (88%; P.001). Similarly, specificity for cardiac syncope and 30d-MACE in BASEL IX was comparable for both guidelines, but in SRS the ACC/AHA/HRS guidelines showed a higher specificity for 30d-MACE than the ESC guidelines.ACC/AHA/HRS and ESC guidelines showed disagreement regarding admission for 1 in 4 patients and had only modest sensitivity, all indicating possible opportunities for improvements.

Systemic inflammation may be central in the pathophysiology of acute heart failure (AHF). We aimed to assess the possible role of systemic inflammation in the pathophysiology, phenotyping, and risk stratification of patients with AHF.Using a novel Interleukin-6 immunoassay with unprecedented sensitivity (limit of detection 0.01ng/L) we quantified systemic inflammation in unselected patients presenting with acute dyspnea to the emergency department in a multicenter study. 1-year mortality was the primary prognostic endpoint. Among 2042 patients, 1026 (50.2%) had an adjudicated diagnosis of AHF, 83.7% of whom had elevated Interleukin-6 concentrations (4.45ng/L). Interleukin-6 was significantly higher in AHF patients compared to patients with other causes of dyspnea (11.2 [6.1-26.5] ng/L vs 9.0 [3.2-32.3] ng/L, p0.0005). Elevated Interleukin-6 concentrations were independently predicted by increasing NT-proBNP and high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T, as well as the clinical diagnosis of infection. Among the different AHF phenotypes, Interleukin-6 concentrations were highest in patients with cardiogenic shock (25.7 [14.0-164.2] ng/L) and lowest in patients with hypertensive AHF (9.3 [4.8-21.6] ng/L, p=0.001). Inflammation as quantified by Interleukin-6 was a strong and independent predictor of 1-year mortality both in all AHF patients, as well as those without clinically overt infection at presentation [adjusted hazard ratio (95%CI): 1.45 (1.15-1.83) vs 1.48 (1.09-2.00), respectively]. The addition of Interleukin-6 significantly improved the discrimination of the BIOSTAT-CHF risk score.An unexpectedly high percentage of patients with AHF have subclinical systemic inflammation as quantified by Interleukin-6, which seems to contribute to AHF phenotype and to the risk of death.

To determine the prevalence, characteristics and association with prognosis of left bundle branch block (LBBB) in 3 different cohorts of patients with acute heart failure (AHF).We retrospectively analyzed 12,950 patients with AHF who were included in the EAHFE (Epidemiology Acute Heart Failure Emergency), RICA (National Heart Failure Registry of the Spanish Internal Medicine Society), and BASEL-V (Basics in Acute Shortness of Breath Evaluation of Switzerland) registries. We independently analyzed the relationship between baseline and clinical characteristics and the presence of LBBB and the potential association of LBBB with 1-year all-cause mortality and a 90-day postdischarge combined endpoint (Emergency Department reconsultation, hospitalization or death). The prevalence of LBBB was 13.5% (95% confidence interval: 12.9%-14.0%). In all registries, patients with LBBB more commonly had coronary artery disease and previous episodes of AHF, were taking chronic spironolactone treatment, had lower left ventricular ejection fraction and systolic blood pressure values and higher NT-proBNP levels. There were no differences in risk for patients with LBBB in any cohort, with adjusted hazard ratios (95% confidence interval) for 1-year mortality in EAHFE/RICA/BASEL-V cohorts of 1.02 (0.89-1.17), 1.15 (0.95-1.38) and 1.32 (0.94-1.86), respectively, and for 90-day postdischarge combined endpoint of 1.00 (0.88-1.14), 1.14 (0.92-1.40) and 1.26 (0.84-1.89). These results were consistent in sensitivity analyses.Less than 20% of patients with AHF present LBBB, which is consistently associated with cardiovascular comorbidities, reduced left ventricular ejection fraction and more severe decompensations. Nonetheless, after taking these factors into account, LBBB in patients with AHF is not associated with worse outcomes.

Aims We aimed to assess the long‐term effect of a strategy of comprehensive vasodilation versus usual care on health‐related quality of life (HRQL) among patients with acute heart failure (AHF). Methods and results Health‐related quality of life was prospectively assessed by the generic 3‐levelled EQ‐5D and the disease‐specific Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ) among adult AHF patients enrolled in an international, multicentre, randomised, open‐label blinded‐end‐point trial of a strategy that emphasized early intensive and sustained vasodilation using maximally tolerated doses of established oral and transdermal vasodilators according to systolic blood pressure. Changes in EQ‐5D and KCCQ from admission to 180 day follow‐up were individually compared between the intensive vasodilatation and the usual care group. Among 666 patients eligible for 180 day follow‐up, 284 (43%, median age 79 years, 35% women) and 198 (30%, median age 77 years, 35% women) had completed the EQ‐5D and KCCQ at baseline and follow‐up, respectively. There was a significant improvement in HRQL as quantified by both, EQ‐5D and KCCQ, from hospitalization to 180 day follow‐up, with no significant differences in the change of HRQL between both treatment strategies. For instance, 39 (26%) versus 33 (25%) patients had an improvement by at least one level in at least two categories in the EQ‐5D. Median increase in KCCQ overall summary score (KCCQ‐OSS) was 17.6 (IQR 2.0–42.6) in the intervention group versus 18.5 (IQR 3.9–39.3) in the usual care group (P

BACKGROUND The diagnosis of cardiac syncope remains a challenge in the emergency department (ED). OBJECTIVE Assessing the diagnostic accuracy of the early standardized clinical judgement (ESCJ) including a standardized syncope-specific case report form (CRF) in comparison with a recommended multivariable diagnostic score. METHODS In a prospective international observational multicentre study, diagnostic accuracy for cardiac syncope of ESCJ by the ED physician amongst patients ≥ 40 years presenting with syncope to the ED was directly compared with that of the Evaluation of Guidelines in Syncope Study (EGSYS) diagnostic score. Cardiac syncope was centrally adjudicated independently of the ESCJ or conducted workup by two ED specialists based on all information available up to 1-year follow-up. Secondary aims included direct comparison with high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI) and B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) concentrations and a Lasso regression to identify variables contributing most to ESCJ. RESULTS Cardiac syncope was adjudicated in 252/1494 patients (15.2%). The diagnostic accuracy of ESCJ for cardiac syncope as quantified by the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.87 (95% CI: 0.84-0.89), and higher compared with the EGSYS diagnostic score (0.73 (95% CI: 0.70-0.76)), hs-cTnI (0.77 (95% CI: 0.73-0.80)) and BNP (0.77 (95% CI: 0.74-0.80)), all P