Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) occurs in ≈1:2000 deliveries in the United States and worldwide. The genetic underpinnings of PPCM remain poorly defined. Approximately 10% of women with PPCM harbor ...truncating variants in
(TTNtvs). Whether mutations in other genes can predispose to PPCM is not known. It is also not known if the presence of TTNtvs predicts clinical presentation or outcomes. Nor is it known if the prevalence of TTNtvs differs in women with PPCM and preeclampsia, the strongest risk factor for PPCM.
Women with PPCM were retrospectively identified from several US and international academic centers, and clinical information and DNA samples were acquired. Next-generation sequencing was performed on 67 genes, including
, and evaluated for burden of truncating and missense variants. The impact of TTNtvs on the severity of clinical presentation, and on clinical outcomes, was evaluated.
Four hundred sixty-nine women met inclusion criteria. Of the women with PPCM, 10.4% bore TTNtvs (odds ratio=9.4 compared with 1.2% in the reference population; Bonferroni-corrected
*=1.2×10
). We additionally identified overrepresentation of truncating variants in FLNC (odds ratio=24.8,
*=7.0×10
), DSP (odds ratio=14.9,
*=1.0×10
), and BAG3 (odds ratio=53.1,
*=0.02), genes not previously associated with PPCM. This profile is highly similar to that found in nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy. Women with TTNtvs had lower left ventricular ejection fraction on presentation than did women without TTNtvs (23.5% versus 29%,
=2.5×10
), but did not differ significantly in timing of presentation after delivery, in prevalence of preeclampsia, or in rates of clinical recovery.
This study provides the first extensive genetic and phenotypic landscape of PPCM and demonstrates that predisposition to heart failure is an important risk factor for PPCM. The work reveals a degree of genetic similarity between PPCM and dilated cardiomyopathy, suggesting that gene-specific therapeutic approaches being developed for dilated cardiomyopathy may also apply to PPCM, and that approaches to genetic testing in PPCM should mirror those taken in dilated cardiomyopathy. Last, the clarification of genotype/phenotype associations has important implications for genetic counseling.
Aim
Population‐based European studies of peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) are few. We aimed to estimate the nationwide incidence and outcome of PPCM in Denmark during 2005–2014.
Methods and results
...The Danish National Birth Register and the Danish National Patient Register were linked and searched for cardiomyopathy and heart failure ICD‐10 diagnoses in a period of nine months before to 12 months after a delivery from 1 January 2005 through 31 December 2014. Diagnoses were validated and additional data were extracted from patient charts. A total of 61 women met the inclusion criteria equalling 1 in 10 149 deliveries. The majority recovered left ventricular systolic function within one year, but 14.8% suffered a major adverse event with 3.3% mortality, 8.2% mechanical circulatory support requirement and/or heart transplantation and 4.9% persistent severe heart failure. Half of the women had a concomitant hypertensive disorder of pregnancy, and this subgroup had a milder course of the disease. Baseline left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was the only significant predictor of LVEF 10–14 months after diagnosis, and cabergoline therapy to inhibit lactation predicted the dichotomous outcome of complete recovery (LVEF ≥55%).
Conclusion
The first validated, population‐based European estimate of PPCM incidence is 1 in 10 149 deliveries, which places Denmark between American and Japanese estimates. Clinical outcome in the cohort was similar to those reported in recent cohorts. Women with concomitant hypertensive disorder of pregnancy had a milder course of PPCM. Baseline LVEF predicted LVEF 10–14 months after diagnosis and cabergoline predicted complete recovery.
Bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a common extracardiac manifestation of amyloidosis and usually predates overt cardiac amyloidosis (CA) by several years. Screening studies on patients ...undergoing CTS surgery have shown a low yield of CA (2.0%), but high prevalence of amyloid in the carpal ligament. The proportion of patients with amyloid in the carpal ligament who later develop CA is unknown.
The authors sought to investigate the prevalence of undiagnosed CA 5 to 15 years after surgery for bilateral CTS.
Using national registries, the authors identified subjects aged 60 to 85 years with prior CTS surgery, where the first procedure on the second wrist was performed 5 to 15 years earlier. Invitations to participate in the study were sent by mail. Per international recommendations, the initial cardiac evaluation included echocardiography, 99mtechnetium-pyrophosphate scintigraphy, and assessment of monoclonal proteins in serum and urine.
A total of 250 subjects (35.7% of those invited) participated in the study. The median age was 70.4 years, and 50% were female. CA was diagnosed in 12 patients (4.8%; 95% CI: 2.5%-8.2%), and all cases were wild-type transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTRwt). The prevalence of ATTRwt in men was 8.8% (95% CI: 4.5%-15.2%; n = 11), and 21.2% (95% CI: 11.1%-34.7%) in male subjects ≥70 years with a BMI <30 kg/m2. All but 2 patients diagnosed with ATTRwt were in the lowest disease severity score (Mayo score).
Screening for CA in patients with prior surgery for bilateral CTS finds approximately 5% with early-stage transthyretin CA. The clinical yield was higher (>1 in 5) when focusing on nonobese men ≥70 years, showing potential for systematic screening.
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Abstract Background A treatment based on an interatrial shunt device has been proposed for counteracting elevated pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP) in patients with heart failure and mildly ...reduced or preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). We tested the theoretical hemodynamic effects of this approach with the use of a previously validated cardiovascular simulation. Methods and Results Rest and exercise hemodynamics data from 2 previous independent studies of patients with HFpEF were simulated. The theoretical effects of a shunt between the right and left atria (diameter up to 12 mm) were determined. The interatrial shunt lowered PCWP by ∼3 mm Hg under simulated resting conditions (from 10 to 7 mm Hg) and by ∼11 mm Hg under simulated peak exercise conditions (from 28 to 17 mm Hg). Left ventricular cardiac output decreased ∼0.5 L/min at rest and ∼1.3 L/min at peak exercise, with corresponding increases in right ventricular cardiac output. However, because of the reductions in PCWP, right atrial and pulmonary artery pressures did not increase. A majority of these effects were achieved with a shunt diameter of 8–9 mm. The direction of flow though the shunt was left to right in all of the conditions tested. Conclusions The interatrial shunt reduced left-sided cardiac output with a marked reduction in PCWP. This approach may reduce the propensity for heart failure exacerbations and allow patients to exercise longer, thus attaining higher heart rates and cardiac outputs with the shunt compared with no shunt. These results support clinical investigation of this approach and point out key factors necessary to evaluate its safety and hemodynamic effectiveness.
Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is characterized by high propensity to life-threatening arrhythmias and progressive loss of heart muscle. More than 40% of reported genetic ...variants linked to ARVC reside in the
gene, which encodes the PKP2 protein (plakophilin-2).
We describe a comprehensive characterization of the ARVC molecular landscape as determined by high-resolution mass spectrometry, RNA sequencing, and transmission electron microscopy of right ventricular biopsy samples obtained from patients with ARVC with
mutations and left ventricular ejection fraction >45%. Samples from healthy relatives served as controls. The observations led to experimental work using multiple imaging and biochemical techniques in mice with a cardiac-specific deletion of
studied at a time of preserved left ventricular ejection fraction and in human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived PKP2-deficient myocytes.
Samples from patients with ARVC present a loss of nuclear envelope integrity, molecular signatures indicative of increased DNA damage, and a deficit in transcripts coding for proteins in the electron transport chain. Mice with a cardiac-specific deletion of
also present a loss of nuclear envelope integrity, which leads to DNA damage and subsequent excess oxidant production (O
and H
O
), the latter increased further under mechanical stress (isoproterenol or exercise). Increased oxidant production and DNA damage is recapitulated in human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived PKP2-deficient myocytes. Furthermore, PKP2-deficient cells release H
O
into the extracellular environment, causing DNA damage and increased oxidant production in neighboring myocytes in a paracrine manner. Treatment with honokiol increases SIRT3 (mitochondrial nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-dependent protein deacetylase sirtuin-3) activity, reduces oxidant levels and DNA damage in vitro and in vivo, reduces collagen abundance in the right ventricular free wall, and has a protective effect on right ventricular function.
Loss of nuclear envelope integrity and subsequent DNA damage is a key substrate in the molecular pathology of ARVC. We show transcriptional downregulation of proteins of the electron transcript chain as an early event in the molecular pathophysiology of the disease (before loss of left ventricular ejection fraction <45%), which associates with increased oxidant production (O
and H
O
). We propose therapies that limit oxidant formation as a possible intervention to restrict DNA damage in ARVC.
DANISH (The Danish Study to Assess the Efficacy of Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators ICDs in Patients With Nonischemic Systolic Heart Failure on Mortality) found that primary-prevention ICD ...implantation was not associated with an overall survival benefit in patients with nonischemic systolic heart failure during a median follow-up of 5.6 years, although there was a beneficial effect on all-cause mortality in patients ≤70 years. This study presents an additional 4 years of follow-up data from DANISH.
In DANISH, 556 patients with nonischemic systolic heart failure were randomized to receive an ICD and 560 to receive usual clinical care and followed until June 30, 2016. In this long-term follow-up study, patients were followed until May 18, 2020. Analyses were conducted for the overall population and according to age (≤70 and >70 years).
During a median follow-up of 9.5 years (25th-75th percentile, 7.9-10.9 years), 208/556 patients (37%) in the ICD group and 226/560 patients (40%) in the control group died. Compared with the control group, the ICD group did not have significantly lower all-cause mortality (hazard ratio HR 0.89, 95% CI, 0.74-1.08;
= 0.24). In patients ≤70 years (n = 829), all-cause mortality was lower in the ICD group than the control group (117/389 30% versus 158/440 36%; HR, 0.78 95% CI, 0.61-0.99;
= 0.04), whereas in patients >70 years (n = 287), all-cause mortality was not significantly different between the ICD and control group (91/167 54% versus 68/120 57%; HR, 0.92 95% CI, 0.67-1.28;
= 0.75). Cardiovascular death showed similar trends (overall, 147/556 26% versus 164/560 29%; HR, 0.87 95% CI, 0.70-1.09;
= 0.20; ≤70 years, 87/389 22% versus 122/440 28%; HR, 0.75 95% CI, 0.57-0.98;
= 0.04; >70 years, 60/167 36% versus 42/120 35%; HR, 0.97 95% CI, 0.65-1.45;
= 0.91). The ICD group had a significantly lower incidence of sudden cardiovascular death in the overall population (35/556 6% versus 57/560 10%; HR, 0.60 95% CI, 0.40-0.92;
= 0.02) and in patients ≤70 years (19/389 5% versus 49/440 11%; HR, 0.42 95% CI, 0.24-0.71;
= 0.0008), but not in patients >70 years (16/167 10% versus 8/120 7%; HR, 1.34 95% CI, 0.56-3.19;
= 0.39).
During a median follow-up of 9.5 years, ICD implantation did not provide an overall survival benefit in patients with nonischemic systolic heart failure. In patients ≤70 years, ICD implantation was associated with a lower incidence of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular death, and sudden cardiovascular death. Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT00542945.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES
In the third report of the European Registry for Patients with Mechanical Circulatory Support of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, outcomes of patients ...receiving mechanical circulatory support are reviewed in relation to implant era.
METHODS
Procedures in adult patients (January 2011–June 2020) were included. Patients from centres with <60% follow-ups completed were excluded. Outcomes were stratified into 3 eras (2011–2013, 2014–2017 and 2018–2020). Adverse event rates (AERs) were calculated and stratified into early phase (<3 months) and late phase (>3 months). Risk factors for death were explored using univariable Cox regression with a stepwise time-varying hazard ratio (<3 vs >3 months).
RESULTS
In total, 4834 procedures in 4486 individual patients (72 hospitals) were included, with a median follow-up of 1.1 (interquartile range: 0.3–2.6) years. The annual number of implants (range: 346–600) did not significantly change (P = 0.41). Both Interagency Registry for Mechanically Assisted Circulatory Support class (classes 4–7: 23, 25 and 33%; P < 0.001) and in-hospital deaths (18.5, 17.2 and 11.2; P < 0.001) decreased significantly between eras. Overall, mortality, transplants and the probability of weaning were 55, 25 and 2% at 5 years after the implant, respectively. Major infections were mainly noted early after the implant occurred (AER<3 months: 1.44 vs AER>3 months: 0.45). Bilirubin and creatinine levels were significant risk factors in the early phase but not in the late phase after the implant.
CONCLUSIONS
In its 10 years of existence, EUROMACS has become a point of reference enabling benchmarking and outcome monitoring. Patient characteristics and outcomes changed between implant eras. In addition, both occurrence of outcomes and risk factor weights are time dependent.
As a registry of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, the European Registry for Patients with Mechanical Circulatory Support (EUROMACS) offers a robust repository of clinical data on long-term mechanical circulatory support (MCS) from a large international community.
Abstract Exercise tolerance is affected in patients with heart failure (HF). Although the inability of the heart to pump blood to the working muscle has been the conventional mechanism proposed to ...explain the lowered capacity of patients with HF to exercise, evidence suggests that the pathophysiological mechanisms associated with their exercise intolerance is more complex. Recent findings indicate that lowered cerebral blood flow (CBF) and oxygenation likely represent limiting factors for exercise capacity in patients with HF. After an overview of cardiac and peripheral responses during acute and chronic exercise in healthy individuals, we succinctly review cardiac and noncardiac mechanisms by which HF influences exercise tolerance. We then consider how HF, comorbidity, and HF treatment influence CBF and oxygenation at rest and during exercise. Finally, we provide suggestions for further research to improve our understanding of the role of the brain in exercise intolerance in HF.
Most studies on vocational rehabilitation after heart transplantation (HTX) are based on self-reported data. Danish registries include weekly longitudinal information on all public transfer payments. ...We intended to describe 20-year trends in employment status for the Danish heart-transplant recipients, and examine the influence of multimorbidity and socioeconomic position (SEP). Linking registry and Scandiatransplant data (1994-2018), we conducted a study in recipients of working age (19-63 years). The cohort contained 492 recipients (79% males) and the median (IQR) age was 52 years (43-57 years). Five years after HTX, 30% of the survived recipients participated on the labor market; 9% were in a flexible job with reduced health-related working capacity. Moreover, 60% were retired and 10% eligible for labor market participation were unemployed. Recipients with multimorbidity had a higher age and a lower prevalence of employment. Five years after HTX, characteristics of recipients with labor market participation were: living alone (27%) versus cohabitation (73%); low (36%) versus medium-high (64%) educational level; low (13%) or medium-high (87%) income group. Heart-transplant recipients with multimorbidity have a higher age and a lower prevalence of employment. Socioeconomically disadvantaged recipients had a lower prevalence of labor market participation, despite being younger compared with the socioeconomically advantaged.
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