Heart failure (HF) is a chronic condition with many imbalances, including nutritional issues. Next to sarcopenia and cachexia which are clinically evident, micronutrient deficiency is also present in HF. It is involved in HF pathophysiology and has prognostic implications. In general, most widely known micronutrients are depleted in HF, which is associated with symptoms and adverse outcomes. Nutritional intake is important but is not the only factor reducing the micronutrient availability for bodily processes, because absorption, distribution, and patient comorbidity may play a major role. In this context, interventional studies with parenteral micronutrient supplementation provide evidence that normalization of micronutrients is associated with improvement in physical performance and quality of life. Outcome studies are underway and should be reported in the following years.
COBISS.SI-ID: 4658917
The high burden of heart failure in nursing-home populations is due to advanced age and comorbidities. Heart failure is often undiagnosed or misdiagnosed in this population and therefore remains untreated. We review the use of natriuretic peptide biomarkers for screening heart failure in nursing-home residents. The study was performed in accordance with recommendationsfrom the Cochrane Collaboration using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement(PRISMA) and is registered in PROSPERO Register of Systematic Reviews. Databases PubMed, Embase, and Trip were searched from 2000 to March 2019, supplemented by hand-searching of references. Studies investigating the nursing-home population were included. The prevalence of heart failure among nursing-home residents was higher than in the general population of comparable age (23% vs 10%, respectively). The rate of misdiagnosis in nursing homes ranged from 25 to 76%. NT-proBNP was the most commonly used natriuretic peptide biomarker for heart failure screening. The mean value of NT-proBNP was significantly higher in residents with heart failure than in residents overall (pooled means of 2409 pg/mL vs 1074 pg/mL,respectively). In comparison with current guidelines, the proposed cut-off values for ruling out heart failure were higher in the analyzed studies, with ranges of 230-760 pg/mL for NT-proBNP and 50-115 pg/mL for BNP. NT-proBNP and BNP are used for screening heart failure in the nursing-home population. The current screening cut-off values are probably too low for use in nursing homes. Our most conservative estimation for ruling out heart failure is an NT-proBNP cut-off value of 230 pg/mL.
COBISS.SI-ID: 34745049
There is an increasing interest in osteoporosis and reduced bone mineral density affecting not only post%menopausal women but also men, particularly with coexisting chronic diseases. Bone status in patients with stable chronic heart failure (HF) has been rarely studied so far. HF and osteoporosis are highly prevalent aging%related syndromes that exact a huge impact on society. Both disorders are common causes of loss of function and independence, and of prolonged hospitalizations, presenting a heavy burden on the health care system. The most devastating complication of osteoporosis is hip fracture, which is associated with high mortality risk and among those who survive, leads to a loss of function and independence often necessitating admission to long%term care. Current HF guidelines do not suggest screening methods or patient education in terms of osteoporosis or osteoporotic fracture. This review may serve as a solid base to discuss the need for bone health evaluation in HF patients.
COBISS.SI-ID: 15204867