TY - JOUR A1 - Liu, Dan A1 - Hu, Kai A1 - Niemann, Markus A1 - Herrmann, Sebastian A1 - Cikes, Maja A1 - Störk, Stefan A1 - Beer, Meinrad A1 - Gaudron, Philipp Daniel A1 - Morbach, Caroline A1 - Knop, Stefan A1 - Geissinger, Eva A1 - Ertl, Georg A1 - Bijnens, Bart A1 - Weidemann, Frank T1 - Impact of Regional Left Ventricular Function on Outcome for Patients with AL Amyloidosis JF - PLoS ONE N2 - Objectives The aim of this study was to explore the left ventricular (LV) deformation changes and the potential impact of deformation on outcome in patients with proven light-chain (AL) amyloidosis and LV hypertrophy. Background Cardiac involvement in AL amyloidosis patients is associated with poor outcome. Detecting regional cardiac function by advanced non-invasive techniques might be favorable for predicting outcome. Methods LV longitudinal, circumferential and radial peak systolic strains (Ssys) were assessed by speckle tracking imaging (STI) in 44 biopsy-proven systemic AL amyloidosis patients with LV hypertrophy (CA) and in 30 normal controls. Patients were divided into compensated (n = 18) and decompensated (n = 26) group based on clinical assessment and followed-up for a median period of 345 days. Results Ejection fraction (EF) was preserved while longitudinal Ssys (LSsys) was significantly reduced in both compensated and decompensated groups. Survival was significantly reduced in decompensated group (35% vs. compensated 78%, P = 0.001). LSsys were similar in apical segments and significantly reduced in basal segments between two patient groups. LSsys at mid-segments were significantly reduced in all LV walls of decompensated group. Patients were further divided into 4 subgroups according to the presence or absence of reduced LSsys in no (normal), only basal (mild), basal and mid (intermediate) and all segments of the septum (severe). This staging revealed continuously worse prognosis in proportion to increasing number of segments with reduced LSsys (mortality: normal 14%, mild 27%, intermediate 67%, and severe 64%). Mid-septum LSsys<11% suggested a 4.8-fold mortality risk than mid-septum LSsys≥11%. Multivariate regression analysis showed NYHA class and mid-septum LSsys were independent predictors for survival. Conclusions Reduced deformation at mid-septum is associated with worse prognosis in systemic amyloidosis patients with LV hypertrophy. KW - regression analysis KW - ejection fraction KW - echocardiography KW - cardiac transplantation KW - deformation KW - amyloidosis KW - prognosis KW - stem cell transplantation Y1 - 2013 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-130293 VL - 8 IS - 3 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Morbach, Caroline A1 - Wagner, Martin A1 - Güntner, Stefan A1 - Malsch, Carolin A1 - Oezkur, Mehmet A1 - Wood, David A1 - Kotseva, Kornelia A1 - Leyh, Rainer A1 - Ertl, Georg A1 - Karmann, Wolfgang A1 - Heuschmann, Peter U A1 - Störk, Stefan T1 - Heart failure in patients with coronary heart disease: Prevalence, characteristics and guideline implementation - Results from the German EuroAspire IV cohort JF - BMC Cardiovascular Disorders N2 - Background: Adherence to pharmacotherapeutic treatment guidelines in patients with heart failure (HF) is of major prognostic importance, but thorough implementation of guidelines in routine care remains insufficient. Our aim was to investigate prevalence and characteristics of HF in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD), and to assess the adherence to current HF guidelines in patients with HF stage C, thus identifying potential targets for the optimization of guideline implementation. Methods: Patients from the German sample of the European Action on Secondary and Primary Prevention by Intervention to Reduce Events (EuroAspire) IV survey with a hospitalization for CHD within the previous six to 36 months providing valid data on echocardiography as well as on signs and symptoms of HF were categorized into stages of HF: A, prevalence of risk factors for developing HF; B, asymptomatic but with structural heart disease; C, symptomatic HF. A Guideline Adherence Indicator (GAI-3) was calculated for patients with reduced (≤40%) left ventricular ejection fraction (HFrEF) as number of drugs taken per number of drugs indicated; beta-blockers, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin receptor blockers, and mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (MRA) were considered. Results: 509/536 patients entered analysis. HF stage A was prevalent in n = 20 (3.9%), stage B in n = 264 (51.9%), and stage C in n = 225 (44.2%) patients; 94/225 patients were diagnosed with HFrEF (42%). Stage C patients were older, had a longer duration of CHD, and a higher prevalence of arterial hypertension. Awareness of pre-diagnosed HF was low (19%). Overall GAI-3 of HFrEF patients was 96.4% with a trend towards lower GAI-3 in patients with lower LVEF due to less thorough MRA prescription. Conclusions: In our sample of CHD patients, prevalence of HF stage C was high and a sizable subgroup suffered from HFrEF. Overall, pharmacotherapy was fairly well implemented in HFrEF patients, although somewhat worse in patients with more reduced ejection fraction. Two major targets were identified possibly suited to further improve the implementation of HF guidelines: 1) increase patients´ awareness of diagnosis and importance of HF; and 2) disseminate knowledge about the importance of appropriately implementing the use of mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists. Trial registration: This is a cross-sectional analysis of a non-interventional study. Therefore, it was not registered as an interventional trial. KW - awareness KW - heart failure KW - pharmacotherapy KW - coronary artery disease KW - coronary heart disease KW - euroaspire KW - guideline adherence KW - guideline implementation KW - mineralocorticoid antagonist KW - preserved ejection fraction Y1 - 2017 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-157738 VL - 17 IS - 108 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Henneges, Carsten A1 - Morbach, Caroline A1 - Sahiti, Floran A1 - Scholz, Nina A1 - Frantz, Stefan A1 - Ertl, Georg A1 - Angermann, Christiane E. A1 - Störk, Stefan T1 - Sex-specific bimodal clustering of left ventricular ejection fraction in patients with acute heart failure JF - ESH Heart Failure N2 - Aims There is an ongoing discussion whether the categorization of patients with heart failure according to left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) is scientifically justified and clinically relevant. Major efforts are directed towards the identification of appropriate cut-off values to correctly allocate heart failure-specific pharmacotherapy. Alternatively, an LVEF continuum without definite subgroups is discussed. This study aimed to evaluate the natural distribution of LVEF in patients presenting with acutely decompensated heart failure and to identify potential subgroups of LVEF in male and female patients. Methods and results We identified 470 patients (mean age 75 ± 11 years, n = 137 female) hospitalized for acute heart failure in whom LVEF could be quantified by Simpson's method in an in-hospital echocardiogram. Non-parametric modelling revealed a bimodal shape of the LVEF distribution. Parametric modelling identified two clusters suggesting two LVEF peaks with mean (variance) of 61% (9%) and 31% (10%), respectively. Sub-differentiation by sex revealed a sex-specific bimodal clustering of LVEF. The respective threshold differentiating between ‘high’ and ‘low’ LVEF was 45% in men and 52% in women. Conclusions In patients presenting with acute heart failure, LVEF clustered in two subgroups and exhibited profound sex-specific distributional differences. These findings might enrich the scientific process to identify distinct subgroups of heart failure patients, which might each benefit from respectively tailored (pharmaco)therapies. KW - heart failure KW - left ventricular ejection fraction KW - sex differences Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-265839 VL - 9 IS - 1 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Morbach, Caroline A1 - Beyersdorf, Niklas A1 - Kerkau, Thomas A1 - Ramos, Gustavo A1 - Sahiti, Floran A1 - Albert, Judith A1 - Jahns, Roland A1 - Ertl, Georg A1 - Angermann, Christiane E. A1 - Frantz, Stefan A1 - Hofmann, Ulrich A1 - Störk, Stefan T1 - Adaptive anti-myocardial immune response following hospitalization for acute heart failure JF - ESC Heart Failure N2 - Aims It has been hypothesized that cardiac decompensation accompanying acute heart failure (AHF) episodes generates a pro-inflammatory environment boosting an adaptive immune response against myocardial antigens, thus contributing to progression of heart failure (HF) and poor prognosis. We assessed the prevalence of anti-myocardial autoantibodies (AMyA) as biomarkers reflecting adaptive immune responses in patients admitted to the hospital for AHF, followed the change in AMyA titres for 6 months after discharge, and evaluated their prognostic utility. Methods and results AMyA were determined in n = 47 patients, median age 71 (quartiles 60; 80) years, 23 (49%) female, and 24 (51%) with HF with preserved ejection fraction, from blood collected at baseline (time point of hospitalization) and at 6 month follow-up (visit F6). Patients were followed for 18 months (visit F18). The prevalence of AMyA increased from baseline (n = 21, 45%) to F6 (n = 36, 77%; P < 0.001). At F6, the prevalence of AMyA was higher in patients with HF with preserved ejection fraction (n = 21, 88%) compared with patients with reduced ejection fraction (n = 14, 61%; P = 0.036). During the subsequent 12 months after F6, that is up to F18, patients with newly developed AMyA at F6 had a higher risk for the combined endpoint of death or rehospitalization for HF (hazard ratio 4.79, 95% confidence interval 1.13–20.21; P = 0.033) compared with patients with persistent or without AMyA at F6. Conclusions Our results support the hypothesis that AHF may induce patterns of adaptive immune responses. More studies in larger populations and well-defined patient subgroups are needed to further clarify the role of the adaptive immune system in HF progression. KW - adaptive immune response KW - acute heart failure KW - anti-myocardial KW - autoantibody KW - inflammation Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-258907 VL - 8 IS - 4 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Yurdadogan, Tino A1 - Malsch, Carolin A1 - Kotseva, Kornelia A1 - Wood, David A1 - Leyh, Rainer A1 - Ertl, Georg A1 - Karmann, Wolfgang A1 - Müller-Scholden, Lara A1 - Morbach, Caroline A1 - Breuning, Margret A1 - Wagner, Martin A1 - Gelbrich, Götz A1 - Bots, Michiel L. A1 - Heuschmann, Peter U. A1 - Störk, Stefan T1 - Functional versus morphological assessment of vascular age in patients with coronary heart disease JF - Scientific Reports N2 - Communicating cardiovascular risk based on individual vascular age (VA) is a well acknowledged concept in patient education and disease prevention. VA may be derived functionally, e.g. by measurement of pulse wave velocity (PWV), or morphologically, e.g. by assessment of carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT). The purpose of this study was to investigate whether both approaches produce similar results. Within the context of the German subset of the EUROASPIRE IV survey, 501 patients with coronary heart disease underwent (a) oscillometric PWV measurement at the aortic, carotid-femoral and brachial-ankle site (PWVao, PWVcf, PWVba) and derivation of the aortic augmentation index (AIao); (b) bilateral cIMT assessment by high-resolution ultrasound at three sites (common, bulb, internal). Respective VA was calculated using published equations. According to VA derived from PWV, most patients exhibited values below chronological age indicating a counterintuitive healthier-than-anticipated vascular status: for VA(PWVao) in 68% of patients; for VA\(_{AIao}\) in 52% of patients. By contrast, VA derived from cIMT delivered opposite results: e.g. according to VA\(_{total-cIMT}\) accelerated vascular aging in 75% of patients. To strengthen the concept of VA, further efforts are needed to better standardise the current approaches to estimate VA and, thereby, to improve comparability and clinical utility. KW - arterial stiffening KW - atherosclerosis KW - calcification KW - carotid artery disease Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-265810 VL - 11 IS - 1 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Albert, Judith A1 - Lezius, Susanne A1 - Störk, Stefan A1 - Morbach, Caroline A1 - Güder, Gülmisal A1 - Frantz, Stefan A1 - Wegscheider, Karl A1 - Ertl, Georg A1 - Angermann, Christiane E. T1 - Trajectories of Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction After Acute Decompensation for Systolic Heart Failure: Concomitant Echocardiographic and Systemic Changes, Predictors, and Impact on Clinical Outcomes JF - Journal of the American Heart Association N2 - Prospective longitudinal follow‐up of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) trajectories after acute cardiac decompensation of heart failure is lacking. We investigated changes in LVEF and covariates at 6‐months' follow‐up in patients with a predischarge LVEF ≤40%, and determined predictors and prognostic implications of LVEF changes through 18‐months' follow‐up. Methods and Results Interdisciplinary Network Heart Failure program participants (n=633) were categorized into subgroups based on LVEF at 6‐months' follow‐up: normalized LVEF (>50%; heart failure with normalized ejection fraction, n=147); midrange LVEF (41%–50%; heart failure with midrange ejection fraction, n=195), or persistently reduced LVEF (≤40%; heart failure with persistently reduced LVEF , n=291). All received guideline‐directed medical therapies. At 6‐months' follow‐up, compared with patients with heart failure with persistently reduced LVEF, heart failure with normalized LVEF or heart failure with midrange LVEF subgroups showed greater reductions in LV end‐diastolic/end‐systolic diameters (both P<0.001), and left atrial systolic diameter (P=0.002), more increased septal/posterior end‐diastolic wall‐thickness (both P<0.001), and significantly greater improvement in diastolic function, biomarkers, symptoms, and health status. Heart failure duration <1 year, female sex, higher predischarge blood pressure, and baseline LVEF were independent predictors of LVEF improvement. Mortality and event‐free survival rates were lower in patients with heart failure with normalized LVEF (P=0.002). Overall, LVEF increased further at 18‐months' follow‐up (P<0.001), while LV end‐diastolic diameter decreased (P=0.048). However, LVEF worsened (P=0.002) and LV end‐diastolic diameter increased (P=0.047) in patients with heart failure with normalized LVEF hospitalized between 6‐months' follow‐up and 18‐months' follow‐up. Conclusions Six‐month survivors of acute cardiac decompensation for systolic heart failure showed variable LVEF trajectories, with >50% showing improvements by ≥1 LVEF category. LVEF changes correlated with various parameters, suggesting multilevel reverse remodeling, were predictable from several baseline characteristics, and were associated with clinical outcomes at 18‐months' follow‐up. Repeat hospitalizations were associated with attenuation of reverse remodeling." KW - acute heart failure KW - left ventricular ejection fraction KW - morbidity KW - mortality KW - natriuretic peptide KW - recovery Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-230210 VL - 10 ER -