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Low-Salt Diet Helpful for HF Symptoms, but Not Necessarily for Clinical Events

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— Sodium restriction still holds its ground in SODIUM-HF trial


WASHINGTON — A dietary intervention reduced sodium intake, but did not reduce clinical events, for people with heart failure (HF), according to the SODIUM-HF trial.

Between patients randomized to a low-sodium diet or usual care for 12 months, there was no statistically significant difference in the combined outcome of cardiovascular-related admissions to hospital, cardiovascular-related emergency department visits, and all-cause death in the trial (15% vs 17%, HR 0.89, 95% CI 0.63-1.26), reported Justin Ezekowitz, MBBCh, of the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. Read more in MedPage Today.

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Stroke While on LVAD No Barrier to Successful Heart Transplant

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— It doesn’t help, for sure, but it doesn’t seem to hurt greatly either

SEATTLE — Perhaps the biggest downside of left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) for people with end-stage heart failure is the substantial risk of strokes they bring. But a new study indicates that patients can still proceed to successful heart transplant after an LVAD-related stroke.

Among patients suffering strokes after receiving LVADs as bridge-to-transplant therapy at one major referral center, and then proceeding to transplant, medium- and long-term outcomes were just as good as for stroke-free LVAD recipients, reported Aaron Shoskes, DO, of the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. Read more on MedPage Today.

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Baby with rare condition gets heart transplant after waiting 218 days

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A baby girl who has been living in a Chicago hospital with her parents for the last six months while waiting for a new heart finally received one last week.

Elodie Carmen Baker received a heart transplant at The Heart Center at Lurie Children’s Hospital on March 27. Elodie was about 7 weeks old when she was diagnosed with a rare heart condition in August 2021 called dilated cardiomyopathy. She had been on the waitlist for a new heart for over 200 days. Read the full story here.

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Mediterranean diet may preserve kidney function better than low-fat for adults with CHD

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Adults with coronary heart disease who followed a Mediterranean diet preserved their kidney function better than those who followed a low-fat diet for 5 years, according to study data published in Clinical Nutrition.

“In persons suffering from coronary heart disease and, in combination with type 2 diabetes, the long-term consumption of a Mediterranean diet would be recommended to preserve kidney function,” Jose LopezMiranda, MD, PhD, professor of internal medicine at the University of Cordoba and director of the internal medicine unit at Reina Sofia University Hospital in Spain, and Elena M. Yubero-Serrano, PhD, emerging researcher at the Maimonides Biomedical Research Institute of Cordoba, told Healio. “Besides the pharmacological treatment for these diseases, recommendation to follow this dietary model could reduce and delay kidney complications.” Read more.

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Heart-Saving AI

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An artificial intelligence system shows promise in identifying signs of heart transplant rejection

Heart transplantation can be lifesaving for patients with end-stage heart failure. However, many patients experience organ transplant rejection, in which the immune system attacks the transplanted organ. But detecting transplant rejection is challenging. In its early stages, patients may not experience symptoms, and experts do not always agree on the degree and severity of the rejection when they examine heart biopsies to diagnose the problem.
Read the full story.

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AI system can help detect the degree and severity of heart transplant rejection

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Heart transplantation can be a lifesaving operation for patients with end-stage heart failure. However, many patients experience organ transplant rejection, in which the immune system begins attacking the transplanted organ. But detecting transplant rejection is challenging -; in its early stages, patients may not experience symptoms, and experts do not always agree on the degree and severity of the rejection.

To help address these challenges, investigators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital created an artificial intelligence (AI) system known as the Cardiac Rejection Assessment Neural Estimator (CRANE) that can help detect rejection and estimate its severity. In a pilot study, the team evaluated CRANE’s performance on samples provided by patients from three different countries, finding that it could help cardiac experts more accurately diagnose rejection and decrease the time needed for examination. Results are published in Nature Medicine. Read more.

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DECISIONS IN A HEARTBEAT: HOW 2 UVA RESEARCHERS HELP CHILDREN ON TRANSPLANT WAITLIST

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Inevitably, the call comes in the dark hours of the morning, the result of something tragic. Dr. Michael McCulloch, an associate professor and pediatric cardiologist at UVA Children’s Heart Center, picks up the phone. A voice on the other end explains, as he knew it would, that a pediatric heart donation is available. Does he want it?

Urgency is never felt so keenly as when it involves organ donorship. Read the full story.

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Models predict acute kidney injury after cardiac surgery

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Models based on perioperative basic metabolic panel laboratory values performed well in predicting acute kidney injury at 72 hours and 14 days after cardiac surgery, researchers reported in JAMA.

The researchers created four models. The first was based on preoperative serum creatinine, the second on perioperative absolute change in serum creatinine, the third on the first two models combined and the fourth on the third model plus blood urea nitrogen, potassium, bicarbonate, sodium and albumin adjusted from time of surgery to blood draw.
Read more.

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Baby gets heart transplant with a twist to fight rejection

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Duke University doctors say a baby is thriving after a first-of-its-kind heart transplant — one that came with a bonus technique to try to help prevent rejection of the new organ.

The thymus plays a critical role in building the immune system. Doctors have wondered if implanting some thymus tissue that matched a donated organ might help it survive without the recipient needing toxic anti-rejection medicines. Read more.

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