Early identification of symptomatic aortic stenosis using echocardiographic data

Background: Heart failure (CHF) is the most frequent and prognostically severe symptom of aortic stenosis (AS), and the most common indication for surgery. The mainstay of treatment for AS is aortic valve replacement (AVR), and the main indication for an AVR is development of symptomatic disease. ACC/AHA guidelines define severe AS as an aortic valve area (AVA) ≤1cm², but there is little data correlating echocardiogram AVA with the onset of symptomatic CHF. We evaluated the risk of developing CHF with progressively decreasing echocardiographic AVA. We also compared echocardiographic AVA with Jet velocity (V2) and indexed AVA (AVAI) to assess the best predictor of development of symptomatic CHF.^ Methods and Results: This retrospective cohort study evaluated 518 patients with asymptomatic moderate or severe AS from a single community based cardiology practice. A total of 925 echocardiograms were performed over an 11-year period. Each echocardiogram was correlated with concurrent clinical assessments while the investigator was blinded to the echocardiogram severity of AS. The Cox Proportional hazards model was used to analyze the relationship between AVA and the development of CHF. The median age of patients at entry was 76.1 years, with 54% males. A total of 116 patients (21.8%) developed new onset CHF during follow-up. Compared to patients with AVA >1.0cm², patients with lower AVA had an exponentially increasing risk of developing CHF for each 0.2cm² decrement in AVA, becoming statistically significant only at an AVA less than 0.8 cm². Also, compared to V2 and AVAI, AVA added more information to assessing risk for development of CHF (p=0.041). ^ Conclusion: In patients with normal or mildly impaired LVEF, the risk of CHF rises exponentially with decreasing valve area and becomes statistically significant after AVA falls below 0.8cm². AVA is a better predictor of CHF when compared to V2 or AVAI.^

Mitral valve prolapse and its relationship with stroke

The purpose of this study was to elucidate the relationship between mitral valve prolapse and stroke. A population-based historical cohort investigation was conducted among residents of Olmsted County, Minnesota who had an initial echocardiographic diagnosis of mitral valve prolapse from 1975 through 1989. This cohort (N = 1085) was followed for stroke outcomes using the resources of an operational medical record linkage system. There was an overall two-fold increase in the incidence of stroke among individuals with mitral valve prolapse relative to a standard population (standardized morbidity ratio = 2.12, 95% confidence limits = 1.33-3.21). When the data were partitioned by duration of follow-up from the diagnosis of mitral valve prolapse, or by the calendar years at echocardiographic diagnosis, respectively, the association between mitral valve prolapse and stroke was not modified. Mitral valve prolapse subjects 85 years and older were at highest increased risk of developing strokes relative to the general population (standardized morbidity ratio = 5.47, 95% confidence limits = 2.20-11.24). Coronary heart disease, atrial fibrillation, diabetes mellitus and hypertension, were unlikely to have confounded the association between mitral valve prolapse and stroke.^ The cumulative risk of first stroke among individuals initially diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse age 15 to 64 years, given survival to 15.2 years of follow-up, was 4.0%. The cumulative risk of first stroke among individuals initially diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse age 65 to 74 years, given survival to 11.2 years of follow-up, was 13.2%. The cumulative risk of first stroke among individuals initially diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse age 75 years and older, given survival to 6.7 years of follow-up, was 30.6%.^ Among individuals with mitral valve prolapse, age, diabetes, and atrial fibrillation were associated with an increased risk of stroke. Atrial fibrillation was associated with a four-fold rate of stroke and diabetes associated with a seven-fold rate of stroke.^ Findings from this research support the hypothesis that mitral valvular heart prolapse is linked with a stroke sequela. ^

Assessment of executive function before and after vitamin D replacement in vulnerable adults who self-neglect

Purpose: Self-neglect (SN) is the inability to maintain self-care needs. It is thought that older adults who have impaired executive function (EF) develop the inability to do self-care and to protect themselves. The specific aims were to (1) determine the feasibility of using multiple EF measures with community-dwelling elders with SN, (2) identify changes in EF between baseline and 5-months in community-dwelling elders with SN who receive 50,000 IU or 400 IU of oral vitamin D monthly and (2) explore changes in specific dimensions of EF between the groups. ^ Methods: Fifty adults, 65 years of age and older, were recruited from Adult Protective Services with confirmed SN. A research nurse administered the following tests at baseline and five-months: Delis-Kaplan Card Sort Test (D-KEFS), Executive Interview (EXIT 25), CLOX Drawing Test (CLOX I, II), Trails Making Test A and B (TMT A & B) and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Demographic data was collected at baseline and serum 25-OHD levels were collected at baseline and five-months. ^ Results: Older adults with SN were more likely to fail the CLOX1 and D-KEFS, while passing the MMSE, CLOX II, TMT A & B and the EXIT 25. At five-months, the only statistically significant difference between groups was in the TMT A & B test scores; the control group did better than the treatment group. There was a non-significant increase in serum vitamin D levels for both groups and no difference between groups. ^ Conclusions: Results from this study provide support that individuals who SN will complete a battery of EF tests and that they exhibit the following impairments consistent with executive dysfunction: 'concept generation', 'planning', 'inhibition', and 'spatial working memory'. Utilizing only one EF measure in individuals with intact cognition may result in unidentification of individuals with executive dysfunction, thus delaying necessary treatment. Future studies should attempt to determine different etiologies of executive dysfunction and determine if early treatment can prevent or reverse SN. ^ Key Words: Self-neglect, Executive Dysfunction, Executive Function, Adult Protective Services, Community-dwelling, Vitamin D ^