马秀平
中国医学科学院阜外医院 19区
BACKGROUND:Dysfunction of autonomic nervous system plays an important role in the development of pulmonary hypertension. The present study aimed to investigate the interaction between balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA) and cardiac autonomic function by using heart-rate recovery at 1 min (HRR1) after exercise as a surrogate marker.METHODS AND RESULTS:We retrospectively enrolled 89 consecutive patients with inoperable chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension who underwent BPA from May, 2018 to Jan, 2021. According to hemodynamics at follow-up, patients were categorized as BPA responders if they met one or both of the following criteria: (1) mean pulmonary arterial pressure ≤ 30 mmHg and (2) a reduction of pulmonary vascular resistance ≥ 30%. Compared with baseline, HRR1 tended to increase within 7 days after the first BPA session, and this improvement persisted at follow-up. HRR1 at baseline and at follow-up were associated with well-validated markers of CTEPH severity, including N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide, mean pulmonary arterial pressure and pulmonary vascular resistance. Furthermore, the change of HRR1 from baseline to follow-up was also associated with the change of those variables. After adjustment for confounders, baseline HRR1 was still a strong independent predictor of BPA outcome. Receiver operator characteristic curve analysis showed that the cutoff value for HRR1 in predicting BPA outcome was 19 beats.CONCLUSIONS:BPA could significantly improve HRR1, suggesting the alleviation of sympathovagal imbalance. Easily available and non-invasive HRR1 seems to be a useful tool in predicting outcome of BPA and dynamically monitoring the efficacy of BPA.
Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine 2022
BACKGROUND:Arrhythmia is not uncommon among pulmonary hypertension (PH) population, and may be associated with disease severity.HYPOTHESIS:To investigate different spectrums and prevalence of arrhythmias in different clinical PH groups in Chinese population.METHODS:Patients diagnosed with PH between April 15, 2019, and August 2, 2021, were enrolled prospectively. The prevalence of different types of arrhythmias in PH patients were calculated. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine independent predictors for arrhythmia.RESULTS:One thousand patients were enrolled. The prevalence of any arrhythmia, sinus node dysfunction, sinus tachycardia, atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, other types of atrial tachycardia, atrioventricular block, and ventricular tachycardia is 44.4%, 12.2%, 15.2%, 8.1%, 4.1%, 10.2%, 7.1%, and 2.5%. Logistic regression analyses revealed that older age and larger right ventricle (odds ratio: 1.111 and 1.095, p < .05) were independently related with higher probability of supraventricular arrhythmia; Complicating with coronary artery disease, larger right ventricle, and increased left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (odds ratio: 19.540, 1.106, and 1.085, p < .05) were independently correlated with sinus node dysfunction/atrioventricular block in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension.CONCLUSIONS:Nearly half of PH patients experienced at least one type of arrhythmia. The most common seen arrhythmias were supraventricular arrhythmia, sinus tachycardia, and sinus node dysfunction. Older age and larger right ventricle were independently related with higher probability of supraventricular arrhythmia; Complicating with coronary artery disease, larger right ventricle and increased left ventricular end-diastolic diameter were independently correlated with higher probability of sinus node dysfunction/atrioventricular block in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension.
Clinical cardiology 2022
Aims:Impairment of right ventricle-to-pulmonary artery coupling (RV-PA coupling) is a major determinant of poor prognosis in patients with pulmonary hypertension. This study sought to evaluate the ability of an echo-derived metric of RV-PA coupling, the ratio between tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE), and pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP) and to predict adverse clinical outcomes in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH).Methods and results:A total of 205 consecutive patients with confirmed CTEPH were retrospectively recruited from Fuwai Hospital between February 2016 and November 2020. Baseline echocardiography, right heart catheterization, and cardiopulmonary exercise testing were analyzed. Patients with lower TAPSE/PASP had a significantly compromised echocardiographic and hemodynamic status and exercise capacity at baseline. The TAPSE/PASP ratio correlated significantly with hemodynamic parameters, including pulmonary vascular resistance (r = -0.48, p < 0.001) and pulmonary arterial compliance (r = 0.45, p < 0.001). During a median period of 1-year follow-up, 63 (30.7%) patients experienced clinical worsening. The relationship between TAPSE/PASP and clinical worsening was assessed using different multivariate Cox regression models. After adjustment for a series of previously screened independent predictors, TAPSE/PASP remained significantly associated with outcomes, and the hazard ratio (per standard deviation increase) of the final model was 0.402.Conclusion:In patients with CTEPH, baseline RV-PA coupling measured as the TAPSE/PASP ratio is associated with disease severity and adverse outcomes. A low TAPSE/PASP identifies patients with a high risk of clinical deterioration, and this novel metric could be applicable for risk stratification in CTEPH.
Therapeutic advances in chronic disease 2022
OBJECTIVES:Previous studies demonstrated that connective tissue diseases-associated pulmonary arterial hypertension (CTD-PAH) had a worse prognosis than idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH), although the former one had better haemodynamic profiles and right heart function. To find potential explanations for this contradictory phenomenon, we compared the exercise pathophysiology of CTD-PAH with that of IPAH using cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET).METHODS:Ninety-three CTD-PAH patients were retrospectively enrolled and matched 1:1 with 93 IPAH patients according to age, gender, body mass index, and body surface area. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to adjust confounding factors.RESULTS:CTD-PAH had higher rest heart rate (HR@Rest) and lower rest oxygen uptake/HR (VO2/HR@Rest) than IPAH. During exercise, the peak power (Power@Peak), VO2@Peak, peak metabolic equivalents (METS@Peak), peak minute ventilation (VE@Peak), peak tidal volume (VT@Peak), HR@Peak, peak systolic blood pressure (SBP@Peak) and peak diastolic blood pressure (DBP@Peak) of CTD-PAH were lower than those of IPAH. After adjustment, CTD-PAH still had lower values of Power@Peak, VO2@Peak, METS@Peak, VT@Peak, VO2/HR@Rest, DBP@Peak and had higher HR@Rest than IPAH.CONCLUSIONS:CTD-PAH had more impaired ventilation, cardiac function and muscular strength (reflected by CPET-derived parameters) than IPAH, in despite of better haemodynamic profiles and comparable heart structure (assessed by echocardiography) and functional status (indicated by World Health Organisation functional class, N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide and six-minute walk distance).
Clinical and experimental rheumatology 2021
Background: Emerging evidence has showed that serum carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA 125) levels are associated with the severity and prognosis of heart failure. However, its role in pulmonary hypertension remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the clinical, echocardiographic, hemodynamic, and prognostic associations of CA 125 in pulmonary hypertension. Methods and Results: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of all idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension patients receiving CA 125 measurement in Fuwai Hospital (January 1, 2014-December 31, 2018). The primary end-point was cumulative 1-year clinical worsening-free survival rate. Linear regression was performed to assess the association between CA 125 and clinical, echocardiographic, and hemodynamic parameters. Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess the association between CA 125 and clinical worsening events. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to determine the predictive performance of CA 125. A total of 231 patients were included. After adjustment, CA 125 still positively correlated with World Health Organization functional class, NT-proBNP, right ventricular end-diastolic diameter, pericardial effusion, mean right atrial pressure and pulmonary arterial wedge pressure; negatively correlated with 6-min walk distance, left ventricular end-diastolic diameter, mixed venous oxygen saturation, and cardiac index. After adjustment, CA 125 > 35 U/ml was associated with over 2 folds increased risk of 1-year clinical worsening. Further, ROC analysis showed that CA 125 provided additional predictive value in addition to the established pulmonary hypertension biomarker NT-proBNP. Conclusion: CA 125 was associated with functional status, echocardiography, hemodynamics and prognosis of pulmonary hypertension.
Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine 2021
BACKGROUND:In the 6th World Symposium on Pulmonary Hypertension (PH), the hemodynamic definition of PH was reduced from a mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) ≥25 to >20 mmHg. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of the revised hemodynamic definition on the diagnosis of precapillary PH.METHODS:We retrospectively enrolled patients who underwent right heart catheterization from January 2012 to December 2018. All included patients were reassessed according to the revised hemodynamic definition.RESULTS:A total of 1,251 patients were included for analysis, of whom 1,044 patients had precapillary PH and 182 patients had mPAP <25 mmHg. After applying the revised definition, 33 (18.1%) of 182 patients with mPAP <25 mmHg were reclassified as having PH. However, only 7 of these 33 patients had a pulmonary vascular resistance ≥3 wood units and could be considered to have precapillary PH, accounting for 0.7% of the existing precapillary PH population. More importantly, 12 patients with mPAP ≥25 mmHg were delisted from precapillary PH for pulmonary vascular resistance <3 wood units (5 patients from Group III, 4 patients from Group IV, 3 patients from Group V). Overall, there was a net 0.5% decrease [(12-7)/1044×100%] in the population with precapillary PH.CONCLUSIONS:The revised hemodynamic definition had a minor impact on the diagnosis of precapillary PH. It should be noted that the revised definition would influence not only patients with mPAP =21-24 mmHg, but also patients with mPAP ≥25 mmHg.
Cardiovascular diagnosis and therapy 2021
Background: The hemodynamic results of balloon pulmonary angioplasty vary among patients with inoperable chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). Previous studies revealed that microvasculopathy accounted for residual pulmonary hypertension after pulmonary endarterectomy, which could be reflected by the diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO). We aimed to identify whether the DLCO could predict the BPA response. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 75 consecutive patients with inoperable CTEPH who underwent BPA from May 2018 to January 2021 at Fuwai Hospital. According to the hemodynamics at follow-up after the last BPA, patients were classified as "BPA responders" (defined as a mean pulmonary arterial pressure ≤ 30 mmHg and/or a reduction of pulmonary vascular resistance ≥ 30%) or "BPA nonresponders." Results: At the baseline, BPA responders had significantly higher DLCO values than nonresponders, although the other variables were comparable. In BPA responders, the DLCO decreased after the first BPA session and then returned to a level similar to the baseline at follow-up. Conversely, the DLCO increased constantly from the baseline to follow-up in nonresponders. Multivariate logistic analysis showed that a baseline DLCO of <70% and a percent change in DLCO between the baseline and the period within 7 days after the first BPA session (ΔDLCO) of > 6% were both independent predictors of an unfavorable response to BPA. Receiver operator characteristic analysis showed that the combination of a baseline DLCO < 70% and ΔDLCO > 6% demonstrated a better area under the curve than either of these two variables used alone. Conclusions: A baseline DLCO < 70% and ΔDLCO > 6% could independently predict unfavorable responses to BPA. Measuring the DLCO dynamically facilitates the identification of patients who might have unsatisfactory hemodynamic results after BPA.
Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine 2021
BACKGROUND:Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) continuously analyzes the gas exchange of patients during rest, exercise, recovery, and simultaneously records the response of the cardiopulmonary system. This study aimed to observe the characteristics of CPET in patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH) and to explore the cutoff value of CPET variables in detecting PH. The diagnostic value of CPET was also investigated in a subgroup of patients who had an incorrect or missed diagnosis of PH by echocardiography.METHODS:Treatment-naïve patients with suspected PH who were admitted to Fuwai Hospital from January 2017 to August 2018 were consecutively enrolled. The gold standard criterion for PH was defined as mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) ≥25 mmHg at rest, measured by right heart catheterization. General clinical materials, echocardiography, hemodynamics, and CPET data of the patients were collected and compared between groups. Logistic regression analyses were performed to explore the CPET variables that were independently associated with PH. To further validate the value of CPET for diagnosing PH, the CPET cutoff values obtained from receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis were used in patients who had an incorrect or missed diagnosis by echocardiography.RESULTS:Five hundred and fifty-nine patients were included in the study. Among them, patients with PH had significantly poorer CPET variables. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that peak work rate (WR), peak oxygen uptake (VO2), and end-tidal carbon dioxide partial pressure (PetCO2) at the anaerobic threshold (AT) were independently associated with PH after adjustment for age, sex, and body mass index. The above three CPET variables were all negatively correlated with mPAP. The combined CPET variable including peak WR, peak VO2 and PetCO2 at AT had the largest area under the ROC curve for the diagnosis of PH (0.890, 95% CI: 0.852-0.927, P<0.001). The cutoff value was 0.86, and the sensitivity and specificity were 81.8% and 86.5%, respectively. Using this cutoff value, 83.7% of patients who were misdiagnosed and 67.9% of patients who had a missed diagnosis by echocardiography were identified.CONCLUSIONS:PH patients have decreased cardiopulmonary reserve, lower exercise tolerance, and increased ineffective ventilation. The combination of peak WR, peakVO2, and PetCO2 at AT had increased sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of PH, and increased the specificity for identifying patients who had been misdiagnosed as PH by echocardiography.
Journal of thoracic disease 2021
BACKGROUND:Balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA) has been demonstrated to improve cardiac function and exercise capacity in patients with inoperable chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH), but its instant impact on cardiopulmonary function has seldom been evaluated. This study aims to determine the safety and efficacy of BPA and its immediate and lasting effects on cardiopulmonary function among CTEPH patients.METHODS:From May 2018 to January 2019, patients with inoperable CTEPH who underwent BPA sessions were consecutively enrolled. Hemodynamics were measured by right heart catheterization, selective pulmonary angiography and BPA were successively conducted. Hemodynamic variables, WHO functional class (WHO-FC), 6-min walk distance (6MWD) and serum NT-proBNP were evaluated before and after BPA sessions during hospitalization. Pulmonary function testing (PFT) and cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) were performed within 1-3 days pre and post BPA to evaluate the effect of BPA on cardiopulmonary function.RESULTS:Twenty-five patients with inoperable CTEPH who underwent a total of forty BPA sessions were consecutively enrolled. A total of 183 segmental or subsegmental vessels (4.6 ± 1.9 vessels per session) in 137 segments (3.4 ± 1.6 segments per session) were dilated. No procedure-related complications occurred. Instant hemodynamics, WHO-FC, 6MWD and NT-proBNP were all significantly improved after a single BPA session. Significant improvement in cardiopulmonary function was also evident as assessed by PFT indexes (forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in the first second, maximal voluntary ventilation) and CPET parameters (peak work rate, peak VO2, oxygen uptake efficiency slope). Further analysis among ten CTEPH patients receiving multiple BPA sessions (2-4 sessions) indicated BPA resulted in lasting improvements in hemodynamics and cardiopulmonary function.CONCLUSIONS:BPA, a safe and effective approach, can bring instant improvements after a single session and lasting benefits after multiple sessions to hemodynamics and cardiopulmonary function for patients with inoperable CTEPH.
Respiratory research 2019
BACKGROUND:Studies have shown that peak circulatory power (peak CircP; peak oxygen uptake × peak systolic blood pressure) is a variable predictor of prognosis in patients with left heart failure. It remains unknown whether peak CircP also predicts outcome in patients with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH).METHODS:Patients with newly diagnosed IPAH who underwent symptom-limited cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) from 1 January 2011 to 1 January 2014 in Fuwai Hospital were prospectively enrolled and followed for up to 66 months for cardiac events (mortality and lung transplantation).RESULTS:One hundred forty patients with IPAH (104 female, mean age: 33 ± 11 years) were studied. During follow-up (mean: 42 ± 14 months), 24 patients died and 1 patient underwent lung transplantation. In the univariate analysis, peak oxygen uptake(VO2), oxygen uptake at anaerobic threshold, ventilation (VE)/carbon dioxide output (VCO2) slope, end-tidal partial pressure of carbon dioxide at anaerobic threshold, peak systolic blood pressure (SBP), the change of SBP, the change of heart rate, peak work rate, peak CircP, pulmonary vascular resistance, cardiac index and World Health Organization functional class were predictive of cardiac events (all P < .05).In the multivariate analysis, Peak CircP in the fourth model had the highest significance compared with peak VO2 and VE/VCO2 slope in the second and third model (chi-square = 5.26, P < .02, HR: 0.99, 95% CI: 0.99 to 1.00).CONCLUSIONS:Peak CircP, better than peak VO2 and VE/VCO2slope, was a strong predictor of cardiac events among exercise parameters in patients with IPAH.
Respiratory medicine 2018
