Purpose of Review
The purpose of this review is to describe the extent and scope of acute heart failure (AHF), place it within its clinical context and highlight some of the difficulties in defining ...it as a pathophysiological entity.
Recent Findings
A diagnosis of AHF is made when patients present acutely with signs and symptoms of heart failure, often with decompensation of pre-existing cardiomyopathy. The most current guidelines classify based on clinical features at initial presentation and are used to both risk stratify and guide the management of haemodynamic compromise. Despite this, AHF remains a diagnosis with a poor prognosis and there is no therapy proven to have long-term mortality benefits.
Summary
We provide an introduction to AHF and discuss its definition, causes and precipitants. We also present epidemiological and demographic data to suggest that there is significant patient heterogeneity and that AHF is not a single pathology, but rather a range of pathophysiological entities. This poses a challenge when designing clinical trials and may, at least in part, explain why the results in this area have been largely disappointing.
Dynamic obstruction of the left ventricle is an unusual complication that can occur after aortic valve replacement. It is important to be aware of this pathology as it requires different management ...than normal complications and can rapidly lead to death. We present a case of successful resolution following transcatheter aortic valve implantation.
Because signs of congestion are associated with adverse outcomes in patients with acute heart failure (AHF), attempts were made to decongest patients as much as possible with diuretic agents (loop ...diuretic agents, thiazides, acetazolamide) or mechanical devices. Those interventions improved signs of congestion but failed to meaningfully improve patients’ symptoms, improve quality of life, or reduce early readmissions or deaths. Recent studies have shown that implementation of guideline-directed medical therapies after an AHF admission led to both more decongestion and improved symptoms, quality of life, and outcomes. Therefore, for most patients with AHF whose symptoms and congestion can be controlled with loop diuretic agents, the main focus should be rapid guideline-directed medical therapy uptitration. Enhanced decongestion, ie, adding a second-line diuretic agent to a loop diuretic agent, should be reserved for those patients who do not respond to loop diuretic agents.
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•Congestion in patients with AHF is associated with poor outcomes and frequent hospital readmissions.•Enhanced decongestion leads to minimal improvement in symptoms or outcomes in patients with AHF.•Greater focus on GDMT after discharge can improve outcomes for patients hospitalized with AHF.
Literature regarding recent trends and outcomes of acute new-onset heart failure (AHF) with preserved ejection fraction (AHFpEF) and reduced ejection fraction (AHFrEF) is limited. The objective of ...this study is to study the outcomes of AHFpEF and AHFrEF in the USA. Data from the National Readmissions Database (NRD) sample that constitutes 49.1% of the stratified sample of all hospitals in the USA, representing more than 95% of the national population, were analyzed for hospitalization visits for acute heart failure. ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes were used to identify AHF. A total of 2,559,102 adult index AHF patients (mean age 70.79 ± 14.58 years, 49.4% females), 1,028,970 (40.2%) AHFpEF and 1,330,999 (52%) AHFrEF, were recorded in the National Readmissions Database for the years 2016–2018. A total of 152,465 (5.96%) acute heart failure, 47,271 (4.6%) AHFpEF and 91,973 (6.91%) AHFrEF, died during hospitalization, and 45,810 (1.9%) were readmitted in 30 days among alive discharges. Higher complication rates which included ventricular arrhythmias, acute coronary, and cerebrovascular events were observed among AHFrEF than AHFpEF. Higher proportion of patients with AHFrEF needed intensive care unit and ventilatory support during the hospitalization. The trend of incidence of AHFrEF, mortality among AHFrEF, and overall mortality worsened while AHFpEF improved over the study years 2012–2018 (
p
-trend < 0.05). Coronary procedures improved mortality rates among AHFpEF and AHFrEF. AHF is very common and is associated with significant mortality. The incidence of AHFrEF and mortality among AHFrEF had worsened, which calls for urgent intervention. Improved recognition of AHF is needed, and guideline-directed treatment of underlying risk factors including coronary artery disease can improve mortality.
Graphical abstract
Graphic abstract of the analysis presented (created with BioRender.com)
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