Right-ventricle heart failure in PAH vs. HFrEF with secondary PH: Hemodynamic, ergospirometric, and organ function correlations.

PURPOSE: The goal of the study was to identify markers of organ function used in daily routines that could potentially aid in the overall evaluation of the cardiovascular system in patients with right-ventricle heart failure due to pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and left-ventricle heart failure. We analyzed correlations between parameters from right heart catheterization (RHC), cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET), and selected laboratory parameters of thyroid, liver, kidneys function and iron homeostasis.

PATIENTS AND

METHODS

A retrospective analysis included 107 patients (mean age 57.6 ​± ​16.2; 34.6 ​% women), comprising 57 patients with PAH (mean age 54.0 ​± ​18.2; 49.1 ​% women) and 50 patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) ​< ​40 ​% (mean age 61.6 ​± ​12.7; 18 ​% women). All patients underwent CPET. Each patient in the PAH group had RHC performed. Fifteen patients from the HFrEF group underwent RHC, which confirmed the suspicion of pulmonary hypertension (HFrEF-SPH).

RESULTS

CPET and laboratory parameters' analysis showed strong correlations between ventilation/carbon dioxide production (VE/VCO2) slope and NT-proBNP in HFrEF without secondary PH and HFrEF-SPH groups. In the PAH group, VE/VCO2 slope correlated with liver and thyroid function but also with morphological parameters of red-cell system. Analysis of correlations between laboratory and hemodynamic parameters revealed significant correlations between pulmonary arterial pressure, pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) and red-cell parameters, especially strong with fT4 in the PAH group.

CONCLUSIONS

In HFrEF-SPH patients, laboratory parameters strongly correlated with pulmonary pressures and pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP).