March 2022 at a glance: focus on medical therapy, prevention and comorbidities

Abstract

Prevention of heart failure (HF) has been recently reviewed. 1 Banerjee et al. 2 performed a systematic analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies to identify risk factors for HF. Among 92 risk factors analysed, hypertension, stable and unstable angina, myocardial infarction, diabetes, smoking and obesity as well as atrial arrhythmias, cancer and heavy alcohol intake, though not supported by RCTs, were associated with a higher rate of incident HF. In the 5 years prior to HF diagnosis, 44.3% of patients had ≥4 risk factors. These data are consistent with recent studies focused on risk factors for HF. 1,3,4 Assessment of left atrial (LA) function has a major role in the management of HF patients. 5,6 A recent study investigated echocardiographic parameters related to LA function and their predictive value for incident HF in a large general population, without atrial fibrillation or significant valvular heart disease (VHD) at baseline. Out of 1951 participants, 187 (10%) developed HF. After multivariable adjustment, only the minimum LA volume indexed to body surface area was found to be an independent predictor of incident HF. 7 CardiomyopathiesCardiomyopathies represent a heterogeneous group of cardiac diseases causing HF. 22,23 Appropriate aetiological characterization might improve treatment strategies and prognosis. 22,24 In this issue, a position paper from the Heart Failure Association (HFA) and the Working Group on Myocardial Function of the European Society

Bone status in men with heart failure: results from the Studies Investigating Co‐morbidities Aggravating Heart Failure

“…[1][2][3][4] Apart from the introduction of novel pharmacologic treatments, co-morbidities have received increasing attention in recent years, both in order to improve patients' prognosis, but also in order to improve and maintain mobility and quality of life. [5][6][7][8] The latter point merits attention, because HF is a clinical syndrome associated with a vast array of metabolic disturbances, many of which adversely influence the musculoskeletal system and fat metabolism and can yield muscle wasting, weight loss, and cardiac cachexia. [9][10][11][12][13][14] Following this avenue of thought, the management of co-morbidities becomes a key component in the holistic care of patients with HF.…”

“…Heart failure (HF) is an important public health problem affecting millions of patients worldwide and representing a major cause of death in the elderly 1–4 . Apart from the introduction of novel pharmacologic treatments, co‐morbidities have received increasing attention in recent years, both in order to improve patients' prognosis, but also in order to improve and maintain mobility and quality of life 5–8 . The latter point merits attention, because HF is a clinical syndrome associated with a vast array of metabolic disturbances, many of which adversely influence the musculoskeletal system and fat metabolism and can yield muscle wasting, weight loss, and cardiac cachexia 9–14 .…”