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Published on: October 3, 2019
Heart rate variations during isoproterenol infusion in congestive heart failure: relationships to cardiac mortality
1CHU Brabois, Vandoeuvre Les Nancy, France.
Insights
Assessing heart rate modulation with isoproterenol infusion can predict cardiac death risk in severe heart failure patients. A weak heart rate increase indicates a poor prognosis and high risk of mortality from heart failure.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Heart Failure Research
- Autonomic Nervous System Function
Background:
- Severe cardiac heart failure (CHF) is associated with significant heart rate modulation abnormalities.
- Understanding these abnormalities is crucial for predicting patient outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To correlate variations in sinus cycle length (SCL) during low-dose isoproterenol infusion with prognosis in CHF patients.
- To identify predictive markers for mortality in severe cardiac heart failure.
Main Methods:
- Infusion of low-dose isoproterenol (4 micrograms/min) in 83 severe CHF patients.
- Measurement of sinus cycle length (SCL) variations.
- Correlation of SCL changes with patient outcomes over a mean follow-up of 28 months.
Main Results:
- Patients who died from CHF (Group I) exhibited significantly weaker ejection fraction, smaller baseline SCL, and a reduced SCL shortening percentage during isoproterenol infusion compared to survivors (Group III) and those who died suddenly (Group II).
- A SCL shortening percentage ≤15% during isoproterenol infusion demonstrated high sensitivity (89%) and specificity (93%) for predicting death from CHF.
- Lower ejection fraction and reduced SCL shortening are associated with increased mortality risk in severe CHF.
Conclusions:
- Low-dose isoproterenol infusion can serve as a valuable tool for assessing prognosis in severe cardiac heart failure.
- A diminished heart rate response to isoproterenol infusion is a significant indicator of poor prognosis and elevated risk of cardiac death in CHF patients.
Abstract:
A marked derangement of heart rate modulation in patients with severe cardiac heart failure (CHF) has been reported. The purpose of the study was to correlate the variations of sinus cycle length (SCL) during infusion of 4 micrograms/min of isoproterenol with the prognosis of 83 patients with CHF (mean left ventricular ejection fraction 28 +/- 9%). During a mean follow-up of 28 +/- 9 months, nine patients died from CHF (group I), nine died suddenly (group II), and 65 are alive (group III). Compared with groups II and III, a significantly weaker ejection fraction (20 +/- 8% versus 29.5 +/- 11% and 28 +/- 9%), a smaller control state SCL (571 +/- 65 versus 722 +/- 200 and 747 +/- 195), and a smaller percentage of SCL shortening during isoproterenol infusion (11.5 +/- 7% versus 36 +/- 16% and 33 +/- 13%) were noted in group I. The sensitivity and specificity of a percentage of SCL shortening during isoproterenol infusion less than or equal to 15% for predicting death from CHF were 89% and 93%, respectively. Therefore the injection of small doses of isoproterenol (4 micrograms/min) may be proposed to evaluate the prognosis of patients with CHF; a weak increase in heart rate during this infusion is a sign of bad prognosis with a high risk of cardiac death as a result of CHF.
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