Bioimpedance spectroscopy yields measurements of fat-free mass, fat mass, phase angle, and other measures. Bioimpedance spectroscopy has been validated as a preoperative assessment tool in cardiac ...surgical studies, in which low phase angle predicted morbidity and mortality. No studies have evaluated bioimpedance spectroscopy following heart transplantation.
We evaluated body composition, nutrition status (Subjective Global Assessment, body mass index, midarm muscle circumference, and triceps skinfolds), and functional status (handgrip strength and 6-min walk test) in 60 adults. Body composition measurements via a 256-frequency bioimpedance spectroscopy device included fat and fat-free mass as well as phase angle calculated at 50 kHz. Testing was completed at baseline and 1, 3, 6, and 12 mo following heart transplantation. Mortality and hospital readmissions were analyzed.
Phase angle and fat mass increased while fat-free mass decreased; grip strength and 6-min walk test improved after transplantation (all P < 0.001). Improvement in phase angle in the first month postoperatively was associated with reduced risk of readmission. Low perioperative and 1-mo phase angles were associated with prolonged posttransplant length of stay (median: 13 versus 10 d, P = 0.03), increased infection-related readmissions (40% versus 5%, P = 0.001), and increased 4-y mortality (30% versus 5%, P = 0.01).
Phase angle, grip strength, and 6-min walk test distance improved after heart transplantation. Low phase angle appears to be associated with suboptimal outcomes and may be a feasible and affordable method to predict outcomes. Further research should ascertain whether preoperative phase angle can predict outcomes.
Heart failure (HF) affects 6 million people in the United States and costs $30 billion annually. It is unclear whether improvements in length of stay and mortality over the last few decades hold true ...for both systolic and diastolic HF. To better assess the epidemiological and economic burden of HF, we assessed the trends in outcomes and costs for both systolic and diastolic HF. We identified hospitalizations for systolic and diastolic HF in the National Inpatient Sample database and evaluated trends over the period from 2004 to 2017, adjusting for demographics and co-morbidities. The proportion of patients admitted with an exacerbation of systolic HF increased from 42% to 63% over the study period. We found an overall decreasing trend between 2004 and 2011 in the length of stay for HF in general with a sharper decrease in diastolic than systolic HF. Inpatient mortality decreased between 2004 and 2007 and stabilized between 2008 and 2016. Systolic HF was associated with higher mortality than diastolic HF. The total inflation-adjusted cost did not change significantly over the study period, with systolic HF costing, on average, $3,036 more than diastolic HF per admission. In conclusion, systolic HF overtook diastolic HF, accounting for most HF hospitalizations in 2008. The higher hospitalization costs for systolic HF relative to diastolic HF may have resulted, in part, from greater use of advanced support devices in patients with systolic HF.
Untreated sleep disorders form a risk of coronary artery disease, hypertension, obesity, and diabetes mellitus. Access to polysomnography is limited, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, with ...home sleep apnea testing (HSAT) being a potentially viable alternative. We describe an HSAT protocol in patients with advanced heart failure (HF). In a single-center, observational analysis between 2019 and 2021 in patients with advanced HF and heart transplant (HT), 135 screened positive on the STOP-Bang sleep survey and underwent a validated HSAT (WatchPAT, ZOLL-Itamar). HSAT was successful in 123 patients (97.6%), of whom 112 (91.1%; 84 HF and 28 HT) tested positive for sleep apnea. A total of 91% of sleep apnea cases were obstructive, and 63% were moderate to severe. Multivariable linear regression showed that the apnea hypopnea index was 34% lower in the HT group than in the HF group (p = 0.046) after adjusting for gender, and that this effect persisted in White patients but not among African-Americans. Patient characteristics were similar between groups, with coronary artery disease, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension as the most prevalent co-morbidities. In conclusion, sleep apnea remains prevalent in patients with HF with a high co-morbidity burden. HSAT is a feasible and effective tool for screening and diagnosis in this population.
Advanced heart failure (HF) is a devastating chronic illness requiring complex treatment regimens and patient engagement. Having the information, motivation, and skills to live with a medical ...condition are conceptualized by the term, “activation.” Patients referred for advanced HF therapy and their unpaid family caregiver were invited to participate in this study by completing the 10-item patient activation measure (PAM) questionnaire. Anxiety and depression were assessed via the hospital anxiety and depression scale. We compared activation, anxiety, and depression between those selected versus not selected for advanced HF therapy (left ventricular assist device or heart transplantation). We analyzed those who subsequently underwent advanced HF therapy in regards to activation and 1-year survival. There were 133 (68%) patients selected for therapy. Neither depression nor anxiety differed by selection status, but PAM levels did (p = 0.02). Those not selected for therapy were approximately 4 times more likely to have lower activation than those who were selected (8% vs 2%). Of the 133 selected patients, 110 (84%) subsequently underwent advanced HF therapy and 15 (14%) of those died within 1 year. Survival was independent of baseline anxiety (p = 0.92) and depression (p = 0.70), as well as patient and caregiver PAM (p = 0.50 and 0.77, respectively). In conclusion, patients with higher activation were more likely to be selected for advanced HF therapy.
Living with a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) comes with potentially burdensome aspects posed by, for example, battery packs and device drivelines. We aim to describe the impact of living with ...a durable LVAD on sexual quality of life (QOL), depression, and anxiety in patients and their partners.
In this single-center, prospective, observational study, patients ≥4 months after LVAD implantation and their partners completed the Sexual Activities in Left Ventricular Assist Device Patients or Partners questionnaire to assess their sexual QOL, the 8-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8) to assess symptoms of depression and the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) to assess symptoms of anxiety. Sixty patients and 60 partners completed the questionnaires 2.3 ± 1.9 years after implantation. Eighty-seven percent of the patients and 13% of partners were male. The mean age of patients was 57.4 ± 13.3 years, with 90% living with their partner. Ten percent of patients and 18% of partners had a current diagnosis of a psychological condition, most frequently depression and/or anxiety. Overall, 49% of participants indicated the LVAD influenced their sexual activity (patients 53% vs partners 45%; P = .33). Disturbances from the driveline were the most common problem indicated. Twenty-four percent of participants had scored in the mild to moderate depression range on the PHQ-8 and 28% scored in the mild to severe anxiety range on the GAD-7. The median total GAD-7 (1 interquartile range (IQR) 0–4.25 vs 2.5 IQR 0–5; P = .06) were comparable between patients and partners; whereas patients had a higher total PHQ-8 score (3 IQR 0–5.25 vs 1 IQR 0–3.25; P = .02). A preference to receive information regarding sexuality while on LVAD support was indicated by 54% of participants and did not differ between patients and partners (P > .99). Written resources were the most commonly preferred source of information.
LVADs severely affect the sexual QOL for patients and their partners. The presence of a driveline is a major cause for concern. Patients prefer receiving written information on how to improve their sexual QOL.
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Acute kidney injury (AKI) remains a leading source of morbidity and mortality after cardiothoracic surgery. Insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 7 (IGFBP7), and tissue inhibitor of ...metalloproteinases-2 (TIMP-2), are novel early-phase renal biomarkers that have been validated as sensitive predictors of AKI. Here the authors studied the efficacy of these biomarkers for predicting AKI after left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation and cardiac transplantation.
This was a prospective study of 73 patients undergoing LVAD implantation (n = 37) or heart transplant (n = 36) from 2016 to 2017 at the authors’ center. TIMP-2 and IGFBP7 were measured with the NephroCheck Test on urine samples before surgery and one-to-six hours after surgery. NephroCheck scores were assessed as predictors of moderate/severe AKI (Kidney Disease International Global Outcomes 2/3 creatinine criteria) within 48 hours of surgery, and the association with survival to one year was investigated.
The LVAD and transplant cohorts overall were similar in demographics and baseline creatinine (p > 0.05), with the exception of having more African-American patients in the LVAD arm (p = 0.003). Eleven (30%) LVAD and 16 (44%) transplant patients developed moderate/severe AKI. Overall, AKI was associated with postsurgery NephroCheck (odds ratio 95% confidence interval for 0.1 mg/dL increase: 1.36 1.04-1.79; p = 0.03), but not with baseline NephroCheck (p = 0.92). When analyzed by cohort, this effect remained for LVAD (1.68 1.05-2.71; p = 0.03) but not for transplant (p = 0.15). Receiver operating characteristic analysis showed postoperative NephroCheck to be superior to baseline creatinine in LVAD (p = 0.046). Furthermore, an increase of 0.1 mg/dL in postoperative NephroCheck was associated with a 10% increase in the risk of mortality (adjusted hazard ratio: 1.11 1.01-1.21; p = 0.04) independent of age and body mass index.
Assessment of TIMP-2 and IGFBP7 within six hours after surgery appeared effective at predicting AKI in patients with LVADs. Larger studies are warranted to validate these findings.
•8 events reported at access site from EMB vs 3 events from AlloMap® testing.•Patients experienced less pain from an AlloMap® test than from an EMB.•There was no significant difference in the anxiety ...levels and adverse events.
Heart transplant recipients must regularly be assessed for graft rejection; however, endomyocardial biopsy (EMB), can be stressful, painful, and inconvenient. AlloMap® is the only commercially available non-invasive test for graft rejection. Current guidelines include AlloMap® testing in low-risk patients
To examine the patients’ perspective, this study compared patients’ experiences of AlloMap® and EMB surveillance at our center.
We enrolled consecutive heart transplant recipients who were to undergo routine EMB and AlloMap® testing (on different visits) to quantify their anxiety on the GAD-7 scale and their pain level on the Polyclinic Pain Scale. We assessed paired differences of anxiety and pain within patients according to surveillance method.
We studied 43 participants (median age 60.554, 66 years; 35(81%) men; 27(63%) Caucasian). The median GAD-7 scores were 10, 4 and 20, 5 prior to EMB and AlloMap®, respectively (paired difference: 0-1, 1,P = 0.323). The median pain scores were 10, 1 and 00, 0 for EMB and AlloMap®, respectively. Patients experienced less pain with AlloMap® testing compared to EMB (EMB–AlloMap;10, 1,P = 0.006). Seven (16%) participants experienced a total of 9 adverse events (pain, bruising, bleeding, swelling) from EMB vs 2(5%) participants who experienced a total of 3 adverse events (pain, bruising) from AlloMap®(P = 0.059).
Heart transplant recipients had less pain and fewer adverse events while undergoing graft rejection surveillance with AlloMap® testing compared to EMB. An additional benefit of AlloMap® testing is that it may be performed at home and reduce these high-risk patients’ infectious exposures.
Little is known about the relationship between cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections and donor-derived cell-free DNA (dd-cfDNA) in heart transplant recipients.
In our study, CMV and dd-cfDNA results were ...prospectively collected on single-organ heart transplant recipients. If the CMV study was positive, a CMV study with dd-cfDNA was repeated 1-3 months later. The primary aim was to compare dd-cfDNA between patients with positive and negative CMV results.
Of 44 patients enrolled between August 2022 and April 2023, 12 tested positive for CMV infections, 25 were included as controls, and seven patients with a viral infection without CMV were excluded. Baseline characteristics did not differ significantly between CMV-positive and CMV-negative patients with the exception of a later median time post-transplant in the CMV-positive group (253 days vs. 120 days, p = .03). Dd-cfDNA levels were significantly higher in patients with CMV infections compared to those without (p < .001) with more patients in the CMV positive group showing dd-cfDNA results ≥.12% (75% vs. 8%, p < .001) and ≥.20% (58% vs. 8%, p = .002). Each 1 log
copy/ml reduction in CMV viral load from visit 1 to visit 2 was associated with a.23% reduction in log
dd-cfDNA (p = .002).
Our findings suggest that active CMV infections may raise dd-cfDNA levels in patients following heart transplantation. Larger studies are needed to validate these preliminary findings.
Extended-release tacrolimus for prophylaxis of allograft rejection in heart transplant (HT) recipients is currently not FDA-approved. One such extended-release formulation of tacrolimus known as LCPT ...allows once-daily dosing and improves bioavailability compared to immediate-release (IR-) tacrolimus. We compared long-term efficacy and safety of LCPT to IR-tacrolimus applied de novo in adult OHT recipients.
25 prospective recipients on LCPT at our center from 2017 to 2019 were matched 1:2 with historical control recipients treated with IR-tacrolimus based on age, gender, and baseline creatinine. The primary composite outcome of death, acute cellular rejection, and/or new graft dysfunction within 3 years following transplant was compared between groups using non-inferiority analysis.
LCPT demonstrated non-inferiority to IR-tacrolimus, with a primary outcome risk reduction of 16% (90%CI, −37%, −1%, non-inferiority p = 0.002) up to 3 years following heart transplant. Up to 3-years post-transplant, 14 patients remained on once-daily LCPT and 10 patients were switched to IR-tacrolimus due to lack of insurance coverage. There were no significant differences in the rate of chronic kidney disease requiring dialysis, cytomegalovirus requiring treatment, cardiac allograft vasculopathy, and malignancy within 3 years following transplant.
LCPT is non-inferior in efficacy to IR-tacrolimus in heart transplantation with a similar safety profile. Narrowly-constrained FDA labels specific to kidney transplant remain a barrier to consistent access to many immunosuppressant medications for recipients of non-kidney solid organs. We recommend the FDA consider developing facile pathways for expanding the approved label of extended-release tacrolimus formulations to heart transplant recipients.
•First long-term outcomes of extended-release tacrolimus (LCPT) post-heart transplant.•LCPT during first post-transplant year yields non-inferior 3-year outcomes compared to twice-daily tacrolimus.•LCPT currently off-label in heart transplant; present data may support approval.
Despite the well-known association between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and cardiovascular disease, there is a paucity of data regarding OSA in orthotopic heart transplant (OHT) recipients and its ...effect on clinical outcomes. Hence, we sought to determine the association between OSA, as detected by polysomnography, and late graft dysfunction (LGD) after OHT. In this retrospective review of consecutive OHT recipients from 2012 to 2014 at our center, we examined LGD, i.e., graft failure >1 year after OHT, through competing risks analysis. Due to small sample size and event counts, as well as preliminary testing which revealed statistically similar demographics and outcomes, we pooled patients who had treated OSA with those who had no OSA. Of 146 patients, 29 (20%) had untreated OSA, i.e., OSA without use of continuous positive airway pressure therapy, at the time of transplantation. Patients with untreated OSA were significantly older, heavier, and more likely to have baseline hypertension than those with treated/no OSA. Although there were no differences between groups in regard to short-term complications of acute kidney injury, cardiac allograft vasculopathy, or primary graft dysfunction, there were significant differences in the occurrence of LGD. Those with untreated OSA were at 3 times the risk of developing LGD than those with treated/no OSA (hazard ratio 3.2; 95% confidence interval 1.3 to 7.9; p = 0.01). Because OSA is a common co-morbidity of OHT patients and because patients with untreated OSA have an elevated risk of LGD, screening for and treating OSA should occur during the OHT selection period.
