The fundamental reason why the organic lesions of chronic heart failure are difficult to reverse is ventricular remodeling. Myocardial fibrosis (MF) is an important pathological basis of ventricular remodeling. Its development process involves complex biological mechanisms and neuroendocrine system. Extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway is a classic pathway for the treatment of tumors. It is found that the inhibition of the ERK pathway can also slow down the progressive aggravation of MF. Therefore, exploring the mechanism of ERK pathway in MF may provide a new idea for the prevention and treatment of chronic heart failure. In this paper, the mechanism of ERK pathway in the occurrence and development of MF and its inhibition drugs were described, in order to provide evidence for the prevention and treatment of MF in chronic heart failure based on this pathway.
Objective To evaluate the diagnostic value of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) for cardiac dyspnea.Methods Plasma BNP levels were measured by radioimmunoassay in dyspnea patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) (n=52) or without CHF (n=30) and normal control group (n=28).Results The BNP level in dyspnea patients with CHF was significantly higher than that of dyspnea patients without CHF and normal control group [(649.80±141.72) pg/mL vs (59.08±18.60) pg/mL and (65.20±16.32) pg/mL，respectively,Plt;0.05].There was no significant difference of BNP level between dyspnea patients without CHF and normal group (Pgt;0.05).The plasma BNP level elevated with the worsening of heart failure (NYHA Classiffication).The BNP level in dyspnea patients with CHF was negatively correlated with left ventricle ejection fraction (r=－0.673，Plt;0.001).The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed that the area under the ROC curve (AUC) is 0.91(0.88-0.98，Plt;0.001) with a sensitivity of 87.2% and a specificity of 86.8% at the cutoff value of 206 pg/mL.Conclusion Measurement of plasma BNP is a rapid diagnostic method for cardiac dyspnea.
ObjectiveTo overview of systematic reviews (SRs) of Yiqi Fumai (YQFM) injection in the treatment of chronic heart failure (CHF). MethodsThe PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMbase, Web of Science, CNKI, CBM and WanFang Data databases were electronically searched to collect SRs of YQFM injection in the treatment of CHF from January 1, 2007 to October 31, 2022. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed methodological quality, risk of bias, report quality and evidence quality by using AMSTAR-2, ROBIS scale, PRISMA, and GRADE system. ResultsA total of 7 SRs were included. The evaluation results showed that the quality of all SRs was low, a few SRs were assessed as having a low risk of bias, and all SRs were relatively completely reported. A total of 46 results were extracted from the included SRs, including 3 with moderate quality evidence, 12 with low quality evidence and 31 with very low quality evidence. ConclusionYQFM may be an effective and safe treatment, but current evidence quality is low.
Objective To explore the effect of motivational interviewing (MI) on medication compliance and self-management behaviors of patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). Methods Between April 2013 and May 2015, 200 cases of CHF were randomly divided into control group (n=98) and MI group (n=102). Patients in the control group received routine nursing measures only. On the basis of routine nursing measures, patients in the MI group received MI program throughout the whole process inside and outside the hospital. The main contents of MI were medication compliance and self-management, to find the existing problems in patients’ daily living and make solutions with the patients. At the time of admission and 6 months after discharge, the Compliance Scale for Drug Treatment of Hypertension and the Self-management Scale for Patients with Heart Failure were conducted to asses the medication compliance and self-management behaviors of the two groups. Results Six months after discharge, the compliance level in the MI group was improved than that on admission with a significant difference (P<0.05), while the medication compliance in the control group was not improved significantly compared with that on admission (P>0.05). In the aspect of self-management, there was no significant difference in the control group between 6 months after discharge and on admission time (P>0.05); while the scores of diet management, drug management, symptom management, and psychological and social adjustment in the MI group (12.9±2.5, 16.1±2.8, 17.3±3.1, 17.0±2.4, respectively) were higer than those on admission (9.9±1.9, 13.3±2.7, 13.7±2.6, 12.8±2.2, respectively), with statistically significant differences (P<0.05). Conclusion MI can prompt CHF patients to improve medication compliance and the ability of self-management, and adopt a more healthy lifestyle.
ObjectiveTo systematically review the association of body mass index (BMI) and mortality in chronic heart failure (CHF) pationts.MethodsPubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library, CNKI, WanFang Data and VIP databases were electronically searched to collect cohort studies about the association of BMI and mortality in CHF patients from inception to June, 2019. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of included studies, then, meta-analysis was performed by using Stata 12.0 software.ResultsA total of 20 cohort studies involving 91 572 CHF patients were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that, compared to patients with normal weight, underweight individuals were associated with higher mortality (HR=1.48, 95%CI 1.36 to 1.62, P<0.001), whereas overweight (HR=0.86, 95%CI 0.78 to 0.94, P=0.002) and obese (HR=0.78, 95%CI 0.68 to 0.90, P=0.001) patients were associated with lower mortality.ConclusionCurrent evidence shows that underweight is associated with a higher risk of all-cause mortality among patients with CHF, whereas overweight and obese are associated with lower risk of all-cause mortality. Due to limited quality and quantity of the included studies, more high-quality studies are required to verify above conclusions.
ObjectivesTo systematically review the efficacy and safety of ivabradine (IVA) for patients with chronic heart failure (CHF).MethodsPubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library, CNKI, WanFang Data and VIP databases were electronically searched to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the efficacy and safety of IVA for patients with CHF from inception to April, 2019. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed risk of bias of included studies, then, meta-analysis was performed using Stata 12.0 software.ResultsA total of 22 RCTs involving 2 010 patients were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that, compared with control group, IVA group could decrease heart rate (HR) (WMD=−10.58, 95%CI −12.47 to −8.69, P=0.000) and N-terminal probrain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) (WMD=−457.87, 95%CI −842.63 to −73.11, P=0.020). IVA group was superior in 6 minutes’ walk distance (6MWD) (WMD=40.49, 95%CI 27.83 to 53.15, P=0.000), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (WMD=5.11, 95%CI 3.74 to 6.48, P=0.000), left ventricular end-diastolic volume (LVEDV), left ventricular end-systolic volume (LVESV), left ventricular end-diastolic dimension (LVEDd), left ventricular end-systolic dimension (LVESd) and incidence of endpoint events with significant difference. However, the total effective rate, the incidence of adverse reactions and blood pressures were similar between two groups.ConclusionCurrent evidence shows that IVA could significantly reduce HR, improve cardiac function and exercise tolerance in CHF patients with no significant increase of adverse events. Due to limited quality and quantity of the included studies, more high-quality studies are required to verify above conclusions.
Objective To assess the effectiveness and safety of meglumine adenosine cyclophosphate (MAC) for chronic heart failure. Methods The databases such as Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (Issue 3, 2011), MEDLINE (1950 to March 2011), EMbase (1980 to March 2011), CNKI (1995 to March 2011), and VIP (1989 to March 2011) were searched, and the relevant journals and conference proceedings were also manually retrieved. Then the studies were screened according to predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria, and their quality was evaluated. Meta-analyses were performed by using RevMan 5.0 software. Results Seventeen randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving 1 281 patients were included. All of the included RCTs were Grade C in methodological quality. The results of meta-analyses showed that MAC plus routine treatment was superior to routine treatment in improving the left ventricular ejection fraction (WMD=5.75, 95%CI 3.61 to 7.89), stroke volume (SV) (WMD=5.55, 95%CI 3.71 to 7.38), E/A (WMD=0.09, 95%CI 0.05 to 0.14) and 6 min walk test (WMD=43.52, 95%CI 21.00 to 66.04). But MAC plus routine treatment was similar to routine treatment in regulating cardiac index (CO) (WMD=0.20, 95%CI –0.31 to 0.71) and heart rate (WMD=0.64, 95%CI –7.49 to 8.77). No significant adverse effects or allergic reactions were reported. Conclusion The current evidence shows that MAC may improve the left ventricular ejection fraction, stroke volume, E/A and 6 min walk test. Due to a high risk of selection bias and detection bias in the included studies, the evidence is insufficient to determine the effectiveness of MCA. Further large-scale trials are required to define the role of MAC in the treatment of chronic heart failure.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the effect of statins on amino-terminal brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), grade of New York Heart Association (NYHA), and ejection fraction (EF) in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) using marginal structural model. MethodsA total of 297 patients with CHF from two medical centers in Shanxi province were sequentially enrolled from January 2018 to December 2020. The medical records were collected. Confounding factors were analyzed by t-test, Chi-square test and logistic regression. The random forest algorithm was used to estimate the weight of inverse probability. The marginal structural model was applied to evaluate the effects of statins. ResultsUsing logistic regression to exclude the influence of baseline confounders, the results showed that statins had no significant effect on the level of NT-proBNP in patients with CHF. The marginal structural model which excluded the influence of baseline confounders, time-dependent confounders and treatment conversion factors showed that statins significantly reduced NT-proBNP (OR=0.699, 95%CI 0.528 to 0.926, P=0.012). Statins had no significant effects on NYHA and EF. ConclusionStatins can effectively reduce the level of NT-proBNP in patients with CHF.
Objective To analyze the substitution mechanism of surrogate endpoints for traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) clinical efficacy evaluation of chronic heart failure (CHF). Methods To obtain data from the occurrence of surrogate endpoints and cardiogenic death of patients with CHF in 7 hospitals. The causal relationship between surrogate endpoints and cardiogenic mortality was inferred by the Bayesian network model, and the interaction among surrogate endpoints was analyzed by non-conditional logistic regression model. Results A total of 2 961 patients with CHF were included. The results of Bayesian network causal inference showed that cardiogenic mortality had a causal relationship with the surrogate endpoints including NYHA classification (P=0.46), amino-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) (P=0.24), left ventricular ejaculation fraction (LVEF) (P=0.19), and hemoglobin (HB) (P=0.11); non-conditional logistic regression analysis showed that NYHA classification had interaction with NT-proBNP, LVEF, and HB prior to and after adjusting confounders. Conclusions The substitution capability of surrogate endpoints for TCM clinical efficacy evaluation of CHF for cardiogenic mortality are NYHA classification, NT-proBNP, LVEF, and HB in turn, and there is a multiplicative interaction between the main surrogate endpoint NYHA classification and the secondary surrogate endpoints including NT-proBNP, LVEF, and HB, suggesting that when the two surrogate endpoints with interaction exist at the same time, it can enhance the substitution capability of surrogate endpoints for cardiogenic mortality.
Objective To assess the correlation between central sleep apnea (CSA) and serum leptin (LEP) levels in patients with chronic heart failure. Methods The level of serum LEP and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) were measured by forward-looking method in patients with chronic heart failure who underwent polysomnography during hospitalization from December 2015 to April 2017 in Department of Cardiology and Respiratory Medicine, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University. And its correlation with CSA was analyzed. Patients were divided into three groups according to the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), and then according to the presence or absence of CSA into CSA group and without SDB group. Results Of the 71 patients with heart failure, 31 had LVEF≥45%, 19 were between 35% and 45% and 21 were≤35% ; 32 of whom were CSA and 39 had no SDB. The lEP concentrations in the LVEF subgroup of CSA groups were significantly lower than those in the control group without SDB, with significantly higher levels of NT-proBNP. Logistic regression showed that CSA was associated with logarithmic LEP (lnLEP) (OR=0.047, 0.030, 0.021, P<0.05). In severe heart failure (LVEF≤35%) group, high NT-proBNP was the risk of CSA (OR=5.942, P=0.045) and the incidence of CSA was as high as 71.4%, which was significantly higher than other groups. However, after adjustment for confounding factors such as age, sex and body mass index (BMI), the correlation no longer existed (OR=6.432, P=0.105). Moreover, CSA with severe cardiac insufficiency had lower LEP than those without SDB. After adjustment for confounding factors such as age, sex and BMI, CSA and lnLEP remained significantly correlated (OR=0.013, P=0.002). Meanwhile, linear correlation analysis also showed that NT-proBNP was negatively correlated with lnLEP (R=–0.751, P<0.001). After adjusting for age, sex, and BMI, this relationship still existed (R=–0.607, P=0.004). Conclusion Decreased levels of leptin and elevated NT-proBNP in patients with chronic heart failure may indicate the presence of CSA.