Tag: congestive heart failure

Elevated brain natriuretic peptide levels in chronic fatigue syndrome associate with cardiac dysfunction: a case control study

Abstract:

Objectives: To explore levels of the brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and how these associate with the cardiac abnormalities recently identified in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).

Methods: Cardiac magnetic resonance examinations were performed using 3T Philips Intera Achieva scanner (Best, Netherlands) in CFS (Fukuda) participants and sedentary controls matched group wise for age and sex. BNP was also measured by using an enzyme immunoassay in plasma from 42 patients with CFS and 10 controls.

Results: BNP levels were significantly higher in the CFS cohort compared with the matched controls (P=0.013). When we compared cardiac volumes (end-diastolic and end-systolic) between those with high BNP levels (BNP>400 pg/mL) and low BNP (<400 pg/mL), there were significantly lower cardiac volumes in those with the higher BNP levels in both end-systolic and end-diastolic volumes (P=0.05). There were no relationships between fatigue severity, length of disease and BNP levels (P=0.2) suggesting that our findings are unlikely to be related to deconditioning.

Conclusion: This study confirms an association between reduced cardiac volumes and BNP in CFS. Lack of relationship between length of disease suggests that findings are not secondary to deconditioning. Further studies are needed to explore the utility of BNP to act as a stratification paradigm in CFS that directs targeted treatments.

Source: Cara Tomas, Andreas Finkelmeyer, Tim Hodgson, Laura MacLachlan, Guy A MacGowan, Andrew M Blamire, Julia L Newton. Elevated brain natriuretic peptide levels in chronic fatigue syndrome associate with cardiac dysfunction: a case control study. Open Heart 2017;4:e000697. doi:10.1136/ openhrt-2017-000697 http://openheart.bmj.com/content/openhrt/4/2/e000697.full.pdf (Full article)

A case of femoral arteriovenous fistula causing high-output cardiac failure, originally misdiagnosed as chronic fatigue syndrome

Abstract:

Percutaneous arterial catheterisation is commonly undertaken for a range of diagnostic and interventional procedures. Iatrogenic femoral arteriovenous fistulas are an uncommon complication of these procedures. Most are asymptomatic and close spontaneously, but can rarely increase in size leading to the development of symptoms. We report a case of an iatrogenic femoral arteriovenous fistula, causing worsening congestive cardiac failure, in a 34-year-old marathon runner. This was originally diagnosed as chronic fatigue syndrome. Following clinical examination, duplex ultrasound, and CT angiography a significant arteriovenous fistula was confirmed. Elective open surgery was performed, leading to a dramatic and rapid improvement in symptoms. Femoral arteriovenous fistulas have the potential to cause significant haemodynamic effects and can present many years after the initial procedure. Conservative, endovascular, and open surgical management strategies are available.

 

Source: Porter J, Al-Jarrah Q, Richardson S. A case of femoral arteriovenous fistula causing high-output cardiac failure, originally misdiagnosed as chronic fatigue syndrome. Case Rep Vasc Med. 2014;2014:510429. doi: 10.1155/2014/510429. Epub 2014 May 20. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4055063/ (Full article)

 

Health status in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome and in general population and disease comparison groups

Abstract:

PURPOSE: To measure the functional status and well-being of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), and compare them with those of a general population group and six disease comparison groups.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: The subjects of the study were patients with CFS (n = 223) from a CFS clinic, a population-based control sample (n = 2,474), and disease comparison groups with hypertension (n = 2,089), congestive heart failure (n = 216), type II diabetes mellitus (n = 163), acute myocardial infarction (n = 107), multiple sclerosis (n = 25), and depression (n = 502). We measured functional status and well-being using the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), which is a self-administered questionnaire in which lower scores are indicative of greater impairment.

RESULTS: Patients with CFS had far lower mean scores than the general population control subjects on all eight SF-36 scales. They also scored significantly lower than patients in all the disease comparison groups other than depression on virtually all the scales. When compared with patients with depression, they scored significantly lower on all the scales except for scales measuring mental health and role disability due to emotional problems, on which they scored significantly higher. The two SF-36 scales reflecting mental health were not correlated with any of the symptoms of CFS except for irritability and depression.

CONCLUSION: Patients with CFS had marked impairment, in comparison with the general population and disease comparison groups. Moreover, the degree and pattern of impairment was different from that seen in patients with depression.

 

Source: Komaroff AL, Fagioli LR, Doolittle TH, Gandek B, Gleit MA, Guerriero RT, Kornish RJ 2nd, Ware NC, Ware JE Jr, Bates DW. Health status in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome and in general population and disease comparison groups. Am J Med. 1996 Sep;101(3):281-90. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8873490

 

Isolated diastolic dysfunction of the myocardium and its response to CoQ10 treatment

Abstract:

Symptoms of fatigue and activity impairment, atypical precordial pain, and cardiac arrhythmia frequently precede by years the development of congestive heart failure.

Of 115 patients with these symptoms, 60 were diagnosed as having hypertensive cardiovascular disease, 27 mitral valve prolapse syndrome, and 28 chronic fatigue syndrome. These symptoms are common with diastolic dysfunction, and diastolic function is energy dependent. All patients had blood pressure, clinical status, coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) blood levels and echocardiographic measurement of diastolic function, systolic function, and myocardial thickness recorded before and after CoQ10 replacement.

At control, 63 patients were functional class III and 54 class II; all showed diastolic dysfunction; the mean CoQ10 blood level was 0.855 micrograms/ml; 65%, 15%, and 7% showed significant myocardial hypertrophy, and 87%, 30%, and 11% had elevated blood pressure readings in hypertensive disease, mitral valve prolapse and chronic fatigue syndrome respectively. Except for higher blood pressure levels and more myocardial thickening in the hypertensive patients, there was little difference between the three groups.

CoQ10 administration resulted in improvement in all; reduction in high blood pressure in 80%, and improvement in diastolic function in all patients with follow-up echocardiograms to date; a reduction in myocardial thickness in 53% of hypertensives and 36% of the combined prolapse and fatigue syndrome groups; and a reduced fractional shortening in those high at control and an increase in those initially low.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

 

Source: Langsjoen PH, Langsjoen PH, Folkers K. Isolated diastolic dysfunction of the myocardium and its response to CoQ10 treatment. Clin Investig. 1993;71(8 Suppl):S140-4. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8241699