Early worsening heart failure in patients admitted for acute heart failure: time course, hemodynamic predictors, and outcome.
BACKGROUND
The most common outcome currently assessed in acute heart failure trials (AHF) is dyspnea improvement. Worsening hear failure (WHF) is a new outcome measure that incorporates failure to improve or recurrent symptoms of AHF requiring rescue intravenous therapy, mechanical circulatory or ventilatory support, or readmission because of AHF, occurring within 30 days of AHF admission.


RESULTS
Retrospective data analysis of 120 patients with AHF requiring hemodynamic monitoring who enrolled in the placebo arm of 2 prospective randomized studies. The incidence of WHF was 42% at 30 days from enrollment. Most WHF events occurred in-hospital during the first 7 days after admission (early WHF). Thirty-day readmission from AHF was an infrequent event in the present cohort (5.0%). The strongest hemodynamic predictors of WHF were cardiac power at baseline and its change during the initial 6 hours of monitoring. Other hemodynamic parameters associated with WHF events were blood pressure and its increase, cardiac output, and pulmonary wedge pressure change during the initial 6 hours of monitoring. WHF was found to be a strong predictor of 6-month mortality.


CONCLUSIONS
WHF is a common morbid event clustered mostly during the first week of AHF admission and is associated with higher 6-month mortality. The hemodynamic measurements associated with WHF are similar to those predicting adverse outcome in AHF and cardiogenic shock (low cardiac power, higher pulmonary capillary wedge pressure, and vascular resistance), emphasizing the notion that early WHF should become an important AHF-specific outcome measure.
Winters Center for Heart failure research, The Methodist Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA.
Guillermo
G
Torre-Amione
Olga
O
Milo-Cotter
Edo
E
Kaluski
Loic
L
Perchenet
Isaac
I
Kobrin
Aline
A
Frey
Michele M
MM
Rund
Beth Davison
BD
Weatherley
Gad
G
Cotter
D000208:Acute Disease; D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D018450:Disease Progression; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy*; D006439:Hemodynamics / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000639:trends*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate / Q000639:trends; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome