Project description:Chagas disease, originally a South American endemic health problem, is expanding worldwide because of people migration. Its main impact is on the cardiovascular system, producing myocardial damage that frequently results in heart failure. Pathogenic pathways are mainly related to inmunoinflamatory reactions in the myocardium and, less frequently, in the gastrointestinal tract. The heart usually shows fibrosis, producing dilatation and damage of the electrogenic cardiac system. These changes result in cardiomyopathy with heart failure and frequent cardiac arrhythmias and heart blocks. Diagnosis of the disease must include a lab test to detect the parasite or its immune reactions and the usual techniques to evaluate cardiac function. Therapeutic management of Chagas heart failure does not differ significantly from the most common treatment for dilated cardiomyopathy, with special focus on arrhythmias and several degrees of heart block. Heart transplantation is reserved for end-stage cases. Major international scientific organisations are delivering recommendations for prevention and early diagnosis. This article provides an analysis of epidemiology, prevention, treatment and the relationship between Chagas disease and heart failure.
Project description:Heart failure (HF) is a global pandemic affecting at least 26 million people worldwide and is increasing in prevalence. HF health expenditures are considerable and will increase dramatically with an ageing population. Despite the significant advances in therapies and prevention, mortality and morbidity are still high and quality of life poor. The prevalence, incidence, mortality and morbidity rates reported show geographic variations, depending on the different aetiologies and clinical characteristics observed among patients with HF. In this review we focus on the global epidemiology of HF, providing data about prevalence, incidence, mortality and morbidity worldwide.
Project description:Heart failure is a syndrome with a pathophysiological basis that can be traced to dysfunction in several interconnected molecular pathways. Identification of biomarkers of heart failure that allow measurement of the disease on a molecular level has resulted in enthusiasm for their use in prognostication and selection of appropriate therapies. However, despite considerable amounts of information available on numerous biomarkers, inconsistent research methodologies and lack of clinical correlations have made bench-to-bedside translations rare and left the literature with countless publications of varied quality. There is a need for a systematic and collaborative approach aimed at definitively studying the clinical benefits of novel biomarkers. In this review, on the basis of input from academia, industry, and governmental agencies, we propose a systematized approach based on adherence to specific quality measures for studies looking to augment current prediction model or use biomarkers to tailor therapeutics. We suggest that study quality, rather than results, should determine publication and propose a system for grading biomarker studies. We outline the need for collaboration between clinical investigators and statisticians to introduce more advanced statistical methodologies into the field of biomarkers that would allow for data from a large number of variables to be distilled into clinically actionable information. Lastly, we propose the creation of a heart failure biomarker consortium that would allow for a comprehensive list of biomarkers to be concomitantly analyzed in a pooled sample of randomized clinical trials and hypotheses to be generated for testing in biomarker-guided trials. Such a consortium could collaborate in sharing samples to identify biomarkers, undertake meta-analyses on completed trials, and spearhead clinical trials to test the clinical utility of new biomarkers.
Project description:ImportanceMost epidemiological studies of heart failure (HF) have been conducted in high-income countries with limited comparable data from middle- or low-income countries.ObjectiveTo examine differences in HF etiology, treatment, and outcomes between groups of countries at different levels of economic development.Design, setting, and participantsMultinational HF registry of 23 341 participants in 40 high-income, upper-middle-income, lower-middle-income, and low-income countries, followed up for a median period of 2.0 years.Main outcomes and measuresHF cause, HF medication use, hospitalization, and death.ResultsMean (SD) age of participants was 63.1 (14.9) years, and 9119 (39.1%) were female. The most common cause of HF was ischemic heart disease (38.1%) followed by hypertension (20.2%). The proportion of participants with HF with reduced ejection fraction taking the combination of a β-blocker, renin-angiotensin system inhibitor, and mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist was highest in upper-middle-income (61.9%) and high-income countries (51.1%), and it was lowest in low-income (45.7%) and lower-middle-income countries (39.5%) (P < .001). The age- and sex- standardized mortality rate per 100 person-years was lowest in high-income countries (7.8 [95% CI, 7.5-8.2]), 9.3 (95% CI, 8.8-9.9) in upper-middle-income countries, 15.7 (95% CI, 15.0-16.4) in lower-middle-income countries, and it was highest in low-income countries (19.1 [95% CI, 17.6-20.7]). Hospitalization rates were more frequent than death rates in high-income countries (ratio = 3.8) and in upper-middle-income countries (ratio = 2.4), similar in lower-middle-income countries (ratio = 1.1), and less frequent in low-income countries (ratio = 0.6). The 30-day case-fatality rate after first hospital admission was lowest in high-income countries (6.7%), followed by upper-middle-income countries (9.7%), then lower-middle-income countries (21.1%), and highest in low-income countries (31.6%). The proportional risk of death within 30 days of a first hospital admission was 3- to 5-fold higher in lower-middle-income countries and low-income countries compared with high-income countries after adjusting for patient characteristics and use of long-term HF therapies.Conclusions and relevanceThis study of HF patients from 40 different countries and derived from 4 different economic levels demonstrated differences in HF etiologies, management, and outcomes. These data may be useful in planning approaches to improve HF prevention and treatment globally.
Project description:BackgroundGlobally, heart failure (HF) affects more than 64 million people, and attempts to reduce its social and economic burden are a public health priority. Interventions to support people with HF to self-manage have been shown to reduce hospitalizations, improve quality of life, and reduce mortality rates. Understanding how people self-manage is imperative to improve future interventions; however, most approaches to date, have used self-report methods to achieve this. Wearable cameras provide a unique tool to understand the lived experiences of people with HF and the daily activities they undertake, which could lead to more effective interventions. However, their potential for understanding chronic conditions such as HF is unclear.ObjectiveThis study aimed to determine the potential utility of wearable cameras to better understand the activities of daily living in people living with HF.MethodsThe "Seeing is Believing (SIB)" study involved 30 patients with HF who wore wearable cameras for a maximum of 30 days. We used the E-Myscéal web-based lifelog retrieval system to process and analyze the wearable camera image data set. Search terms for 7 daily activities (physical activity, gardening, shopping, screen time, drinking, eating, and medication intake) were developed and used for image retrieval. Sensitivity analysis was conducted to compare the number of images retrieved using different search terms. Temporal patterns in daily activities were examined, and differences before and after hospitalization were assessed.ResultsE-Myscéal exhibited sensitivity to specific search terms, leading to significant variations in the number of images retrieved for each activity. The highest number of images returned were related to eating and drinking, with fewer images for physical activity, screen time, and taking medication. The majority of captured activities occurred before midday. Notably, temporal differences in daily activity patterns were observed for participants hospitalized during this study. The number of medication images increased after hospital discharge, while screen time images decreased.ConclusionsWearable cameras offer valuable insights into daily activities and self-management in people living with HF. E-Myscéal efficiently retrieves relevant images, but search term sensitivity underscores the need for careful selection.
Project description:BackgroundHeart failure (HF) is not included in atrial fibrillation (AF) bleeding risk prediction scores, reflecting uncertainty regarding its importance as a risk factor for major haemorrhage. We aimed to report the relative risk of first major haemorrhage in people with HF and AF compared with people with AF without HF ('AF only').MethodsEnglish primary care cohort study of 2 178 162 people aged ≥45 years in the Clinical Practice Research Datalink from January 2000 to December 2018, linked to secondary care and mortality databases. We used traditional survival analysis and competing risks methods, accounting for all-cause mortality and anticoagulation.ResultsOver 7.56 years median follow-up, 60 270 people were diagnosed with HF and AF of whom 4996 (8.3%) had a major haemorrhage and 36 170 died (60.0%), compared with 8256 (6.4%) and 34 375 (27.2%), respectively, among 126 251 people with AF only. Less than half those with AF were prescribed an anticoagulant (45.6% from 2014 onwards), although 75.7% were prescribed an antiplatelet or anticoagulant. In a fully adjusted Cox model, the HR for major haemorrhage was higher among people with HF and AF (2.52, 95% CI 2.44 to 2.61) than AF only (1.87, 95% CI 1.82 to 1.92), even in a subgroup analysis of people prescribed anticoagulation. However, in a Fine and Gray competing risk model, the HR of major haemorrhage was similar for people with AF only (1.82, 95% CI 1.77 to 1.87) or HF and AF (1.71, 95% CI 1.66 to 1.78).ConclusionsPeople with HF and AF are at increased risk of major haemorrhage compared with those with AF only and current prediction scores may underestimate the risk of haemorrhage in HF and AF. However, people with HF and AF are more likely to die than have a major haemorrhage and therefore an individual's expected prognosis should be carefully considered when predicting future bleeding risk.
Project description:BackgroundInternational guidelines for physical activity recommend at least 150 min per week of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) for adults, including those with cardiac disease. There is yet to be consensus on the most appropriate way to categorise raw accelerometer data into behaviourally relevant metrics such as intensity, especially in chronic disease populations. Therefore the aim of this study was to estimate acceleration values corresponding to inactivity and MVPA during daily living activities of patients with heart failure (HF), via calibration with oxygen consumption (VO2) and to compare these values to previously published, commonly applied PA intensity thresholds which are based on healthy adults.MethodsTwenty-two adults with HF (mean age 71 ± 14 years) undertook a range of daily living activities (including laying down, sitting, standing and walking) whilst measuring PA via wrist- and hip-worn accelerometers and VO2 via indirect calorimetry. Raw accelerometer output was used to compute PA in units of milligravity (mg). Energy expenditure across each of the activities was converted into measured METs (VO2/resting metabolic rate) and standard METs (VO2/3.5 ml/kg/min). PA energy costs were also compared with predicted METs in the compendium of physical activities. Location specific activity intensity thresholds were established via multilevel mixed effects linear regression and receiver operator characteristic curve analysis. A leave-one-out method was used to cross-validate the thresholds.ResultsAccelerometer values corresponding with intensity thresholds for inactivity (< 1.5METs) and MVPA (≥3.0METs) were > 50% lower than previously published intensity thresholds for both wrists and waist accelerometers (inactivity: 16.7 to 18.6 mg versus 45.8 mg; MVPA: 43.1 to 49.0 mg versus 93.2 to 100 mg). Measured METs were higher than both standard METs (34-35%) and predicted METs (45-105%) across all standing and walking activities.ConclusionHF specific accelerometer intensity thresholds for inactivity and MVPA are lower than previously published thresholds based on healthy adults, due to lower resting metabolic rate and greater energy expenditure during daily living activities for HF patients.Trial registrationClinical trials.gov NCT03659877, retrospectively registered on September 6th 2018.
Project description:Prospects have never seemed better for a truly global approach to science to improve human health, with leaders of national initiatives laying out their vision of a worldwide network of related projects. An extensive literature addresses obstacles to global genomic data sharing, yet a series of public polls suggests that the scientific community may be overlooking a significant barrier: potential public resistance to data sharing across national borders. In several large United States surveys, university researchers in other countries were deemed the least acceptable group of data users, and a just-completed US survey found a marked increase in privacy and security concerns related to data access by non-US researchers. Furthermore, diminished support for sharing beyond national borders is not unique to the US, although the limited data from outside the US suggest variation across countries as well as demographic groups. Possible sources of resistance include apprehension about privacy and security protections. Strategies for building public support include making the affirmative case for global data sharing, addressing privacy, security, and other legitimate concerns, and investigating public concerns in greater depth.
Project description:During the COVID-19 pandemic, reductions in heart failure (HF) hospitalizations have been widely reported, and there is an urgent need to understand how HF care has been reorganized in countries with different infection levels, vaccination rates and healthcare services. The OPTIMIZE Heart Failure Care program has a global network of investigators in 42 countries, with first-hand experience of the impact of the pandemic on HF management in different care settings. The national coordinators were surveyed to assess: 1) the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic for continuity of HF care, from both a hospital and patient perspective; 2) the organizational changes enacted to ensure continued HF care; and 3) lessons learned for the future of HF care. Contributions were obtained from 37 national coordinators in 29 countries. We summarize their input, highlighting the issues raised and using the example of three very different settings (Italy, Brazil, and Taiwan) to illustrate the similarities and differences across the OPTIMIZE program.