These data suggest that LS is a useful index for assessing systemic volume status and predicting the severity of HF, and that the presence of liver congestion at discharge is associated with worse outcomes in patients with HF.

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Non-ischemic HFrEF patients exhibited multidimensional differences in intestinal microbial communities compared with healthy subjects.

Aims Considerable variation in the relationships between the indices of left atrial (LA) volume and pressure could possibly affect the selection of medications or efforts to improve the prognoses of patients with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). We aimed to clarify the association between the prognostic endpoint and LA overload indices in elderly patients with HFpEF. Methods and resultsWe analysed 898 patients with HFpEF hospitalized for acute decompensated heart failure (men/ women: 406/492). Blood tests and transthoracic echocardiography were performed before discharge. The primary endpoint was re-admission for heart failure or all-cause mortality. Stroke volume (SV)/left atrial volume (LAV), an index for LA volume overload, was a significant prognostic factor of re-admission for heart failure in the multivariable Cox hazard analysis adjusted for comorbidities [hazard ratio (HR) 0.616, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.430-0.882, P = 0.008]. Additionally, the ratio of diastolic elastance (Ed) to arterial elastance (Ea), an index for LA pressure overload, was also significant (HR 1.444, 95% CI 1.014-2.058, P = 0.041). Furthermore, Ed/Ea, but not SV/LAV, was a significant prognostic factor of all-cause mortality (HR 1.594, 95% CI 1.102-2.306, P = 0.013). Conclusions The index of LA overload for prognosis may differ according to the different endpoints in elderly patients with HFpEF.

Aim: Multislice computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA) can be used to detect coronary plaques that predict the risk of cardiovascular events. This study aimed to identify the risk factors associated with the extent of coronary plaques detected using CTCA and to determine the value of adiponectin measurement for identifying high-risk patients with multivessel coronary atherosclerosis.