Browsing by Author "Niederseer, David (57042505300)"

Cardiac amyloidosis (CA) is still an underdiagnosed cause of heart failure (HF) and early disease recognition and timely disease-modifying therapy (DMT) administration translate to better outcomes. We aimed to assess CA screening and management approaches for patients with HF preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) among physicians worldwide. An independent academic web-based survey was distributed worldwide between May 2023 and July 2023. Overall, 1,460 physicians (61% were men, median age was 42 [34 to 49] years) from 95 countries completed the survey. A total of 2/3 of respondents had experience diagnosing CA and reported having 10% of patients with CA in patients with HFpEF. Systematic screening for CA of all patients with HFpEF was performed by 10% of responders, whereas 24% did not consider the screening. Most responders (39%) used left ventricular hypertrophy as a screening criterion. Serum protein electrophoresis with immunofixation of free light chain and urine protein electrophoresis or cardiac magnetic resonance were selected by half of the responders as a first-line diagnostic tool. The combination of serum protein electrophoresis with immunofixation free light chain, urine protein electrophoresis, and bone scintigraphy was considered by 32% of the participants. CA DMT was available for 48% of the physicians. About 82% of responders would administrate HF to patients with HFpEF with CA, with the most preferable drugs being diuretics, sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors, and renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors. In conclusion, the results reveal the uncertainties among physicians worldwide regarding the need for CA screening of patients with HFpEF. CA remains a disease with very heterogeneous management, particularly, in the screening and diagnostic workup. The HF community should aim to educate on CA and improve access to DMT. © 2024 Elsevier Inc.

Background: Exercise training programmes (ETPs) are a crucial component in cardiac rehabilitation in heart failure (HF) patients. The Exercise Training in HF (ExTraHF) survey has reported poor implementation of ETPs in countries affiliated to the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). The aim of the present sub-analysis was to investigate the regional variations in the implementation of ETPs for HF patients. Methods and results: The study was designed as a web-based survey of cardiac units, divided into five areas, according to the geographical location of the countries surveyed. Overall, 172 centres replied to the survey, in charge of 78 514 patients, differentiated in 52 Northern (n = 15 040), 48 Southern (n = 27 127), 34 Western (n = 11 769), 24 Eastern European (n = 12 748), and 14 extra-European centres (n = 11 830). Greater ETP implementation was observed in Western (76%) and Northern (63%) regions, whereas lower rates were seen in Southern (58%), Eastern European (50%) and extra-European (36%) regions. The leading barrier was the lack of resources in all (83–65%) but Western region (37%) where patients were enrolled in dedicated settings and specialized units (75%). In 40% of centres, non-inclusion of ETP in the national or local guideline pathway accounted for the lack of ETP implementation. Conclusion: Exercise training programmes are poorly implemented in the ESC affiliated countries, mainly because of the lack of resources and/or national and local guidelines. The linkage with dedicated cardiac rehabilitation centres (as in the Western region) or the model of local rehabilitation services adopted in Northern countries may be considered as options to overcome these gaps. © 2019 The Authors. European Journal of Heart Failure © 2019 European Society of Cardiology