Heart Failure Flashcards
Heart failure
DEFINITION
• Heart failure (HF) is a clinical syndrome determined by any structural and functional impairment of the heart
• “The heart cannot pump enough blood to fulfill the metabolic needs of the body or perform that with increased diastolic filling pressures”
• “Impaired ability of the ventricle to fill with or eject blood”
• Final pathway of evolution common for any cardiovascular disease
• Natural history
→ progresive disorder
→ decreased life expectancy
EPIDEMIOLOGY
- ↑ Incidence →population is aging (85% of HF cases → > 65 y)
- prevalence depends on the definition ~ 1–2% of the adult population in developed countries, rising to ≥10% among people >70 years of age (2016 ESC guideline)
- The lifetime risk of HF at age 55 years is 33% for men and 28% for women
PROGNOSIS = POOR
• ↑ Risk of death
5 -10% annually in patients with mild symptoms
30- 40% annually in patients with advanced disease
1 in 5 pt with CHF will die within 1 year of diagnosis
~ half of those diagnosed with HFrEF will be dead within 5 years
• the leading cause of hospitalization in patients older than 65 y
2016 ESC (European Society of Cardiology) definition
“HF is a clinical syndrome characterized by typical symptoms (e.g. breathlessness, ankle swelling and fatigue) that may be accompanied by signs (e.g. elevated jugular venous pressure, pulmonary crackles and peripheral oedema) caused by a structural
and/or functional cardiac abnormality, resulting in a reduced cardiac output and/ or elevated intracardiac pressures at rest or during stress.”
2013 American College of Cardiology (ACC)/American Heart Association (AHA) definition
“Heart failure is a complex clinical syndrome that results from any structural or functional impairment of ventricular filling or ejection of blood”.
Etiology
- Coronary artery disease 4. Valvular heart disease
- Hypertension 5. Cor pulmonale
- Cardiomyopathy 6. Other
Pathophysiological causes of HF
- Increased work load (HTN)
- Myocardial Dysfunction (MI, DCM)
- Decreased Ventricular Filling (Valvular, cardiomyopathy)
HF classification
Depending on EF
- Asymptomatic Systolic dysfunction (without HF symptoms)
- HF with Preserved LVEF (with HF symptoms)
- HF with Reduced LVEF (Systolic dysfunction) (EF<40%)
- HF with mid range EF (>40–50%)
PLVEF preserved left ventricular ejection fraction
LVEF left ventricular ejection fraction
Classification according to
Symptoms and the Stage of the disease
NYHA (functional classes)
Class Function 1 yr mortality
I Asymptomatic with ordinary activity 5%
II Slight limitation of normal function 15%
III Marked limitation of current physical activities 30%
IV Dyspnea at rest 60%
Compare the patient with himself !
Stage ACC/AHA Stages of heart failure
A High risk for heart failure without structural disease,
currently asymptomatic
B Heart disease with asymptomatic LV dysfunction
C Prior or current symptoms of Heart failure
D Advanced structural heart disease, severely
symptomatic or refractory heart failure therapy
Descriptive terms in HF
- Acute (New onset, transient, ADHF) vs Chronic HF
- Diastolic vs Systolic Heart Failure
Systolic HF - reduced cardiac contractility
Diastolic HF – impaired cardiac filling
the term “congestive” no longer used because
not all the patients have volume overload
- Other
• Left vs Right HF
Right ventricular systolic dysfunction
Consequence of LV dysfunction
Direct causes: RV Infarction, PAH, chronic. severe TR,
Arrhythmias, RV dysplasia • High output vs Low output High output HF Thyrotoxicosis Arteriovenous fistulae Pregnancy Severe anemia
• Etiology based : ischemic or nonischemic HF
ADHF- acute decompensated heart failure LV- left ventricle RV- right ventricle TR- tricuspid regurgitation PAH- pulmonary arterial hypertension
Mechanisms of heart failure
- Hemodynamics abnormalities
- Activation of neurohormonal systems
- Cardiorenal interactions
- Abnormal calcium cycling
- Alterations in myocite regeneration, cel death
Replacement with fibrosis of extracellular matrix
Beta-adrenergic desensitization - Myocardial genetics (inherited, mutations)
Compensatory mechanisms
Increased Heart Rate
Sympathetic mediated (Norepinephrine)
Dilatation
Frank Starling (Contractility) The Frank-Starling mechanism: by increasing preload try to sustain cardiac performance Activation of neurohormonal systems
Activation of SNS
Activation of RAAS
Release of ADH
Release of atrial natriuretic peptide
→ Redistribution of Blood
Myocardial hypertrophy with or without cardiac chamber dilatation, in which the mass of contractile tissue is augmented
→ impaired diastolic and systolic function
HF: Progressive Disorder
Due to:
- Ventricular dysfunction
• begins with injury or stress to the myocardium
• Is progressive - Remodeling → heart chamber dilates, hypertrophies, and becomes spherical with increased walls stress
Remodeling (LV)
• factors that alter the ventricular size and function
- Mechanical
- Genetic
- Neurohormonal
↑ levels of
Norepinephrine
Angiotensin II, Aldosterone
Endothelin, Vasopressin
Cytokines
- Hypertrophy, myocyte death, ↑ interstitial fibrosis
- Consequences of Remodeling
- Mitral Regurgitation
- Arrhythmias
- Bundle Branch Block
Consequences of Remodeling (LV)
MR- mitral regurgitation SVT- supraventricular tachycardia Afib- atrial fibrilation VT- ventricular tachycardia SCD- Sudden Cardiac Death LBBB- left bundle branch block
• Mitral Regurgitation
- LV dilates → spherical heart with thinned walls
- distortion of the papillary apparatus → MR→further Progression
• Arrhythmias & Bundle Branch Block→ x 6-9 SCD
Arrhythmias (e.g.: SVT→ AFib; VT)
- consequence of Ischemia, Inflammation, Fibrosis,
Aging -
elevation in LVED volume → atrial stretch → electrical
instability
Abnormal myocardial conduction
LBBB → predictor of Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD)
- ventricular dyssynchrony -> abnormal ventricular
activation & contraction
- delayed opening and closure of the Ao and Mi valves
- abnormal diastolic function
- Lead to paradoxical septal motion, ↓EF, ↓cardiac
output, ↓arterial pressure
The progression of HF is favored by:
• Angiotensin system
• SNS activation in heart failure determine
Dysfunction/death of cardiac myocytes
Provokes myocardial ischemia
Provokes arrhythmias
Impairs cardiac performance
These effects are mediated via stimulation of beta and α1 receptors
Consequences of compensatory mechanisms
Catecholamines
• aggravate ischemia, determine arrhythmia
• induce cardiac remodeling, toxic to myocytes
Stimulated RAA system & sympathetic stimulation
• arteriolar constriction
• Na+ H20 retention
• ↑ aldosterone, fibrosis
• endothelial dysfunction
Baroreceptor and osmotic stimuli
• hypothalamic vasopressin →H20 reabsorption in collecting duct
• ↑ endothelin
• ↑ cytokines → cashecxia & apoptosis
Natriuretic peptides from cardiomyocytes • vasodilatation • enhanced Na +H20 excretion • suppress neurohormones Neurohormonal modulation is the basis of current treatment of HF
Heart failure – clinical diagnosis
- Dyspnea
- Orthopnea
- bendopnea
- paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea PND
- Fatigue and weakness
- Decreased effort capacity
- Palpitations and Chest Pain/Pressure
- Nocturia and oliguria
- Cardiac Cachexia
- Right upper quadrant abdominal pain
- Cognitive Dysfunction and Mood Disorders
- Sleep Disorders
- Cheyne-Stokes respiration & Central sleep apnea
Dyspnea (Shortness of Breath defined by NYHA classification) with activity (at slight, moderate or current effort) DOE
most common but nonspecific (exist in pts with lung disease or anemia)
cause: pulmonary congestion that increases the accumulation of interstitial or intra-alveolar fluid,
reduces lung compliance, and increases the work of breathing
orthopnea=
dyspnea occurs at rest in the recumbent position→ NYHA IV
specific symptom of heart failure
characterized by the number of pillows a patient requires to sleep without
dyspnea
intolerance of lying flat due to a rapid increase in filling pressure (results from the
increase in venous return from the extremities and splanchnic circulation to the
central circulation with changes in posture)
Sleeping possible only sitting upright
correlates well with the severity of pulmonary congestion → When ventricular
preload increases pulmonary venous and pulmonary capillary hydrostatic
pressures raises
bendopnea =
= dyspnea that occurs while bending over (Mechanism unknown,just presumed)
paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea PND is
an acute dyspnea
awakens the patient from sleep
usually occurs ≥1 hour after the patient lies in dorsal decubitul and resolves with sitting or standing.
Mechanism: increased venous return + mobilization of interstitial fluid from the splanchnic circulation and lower extremities, with accumulation of alveolar edema
Fatigue and weakness
nonspecific
Occur in > 90% of patients