Symplified pulmonary ultrasound in heart failure patients with preserved systolic function

Abstract

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Background About 1/3 of patients with heart failure (HF) have normal Ejection Fraction (HFpEF). Pulmonary congestion and Oedema is useful marker of HFpEF. The aim of this study was to determine the place of pulmonary ultrasound in patients with DHF. Methods We studied 250 patients with II-IV NYHA class HF from which 70 patients had HFpEF (I gr) and 100 patients Left Ventricular Diastolic Dysfunction but without signs of HF (control, II gr). All participants undergone standard EchoCG examination. Sonographic evaluation of a lung was done in horizontal or vertical positions of patient, from 10 points of thoracic wall (5 points from each side), which corresponded to the projection of lower, middle and upper lobes of a right lung and upper and lower lobes of left lung. Results In patients with HF we significantly often found multiple (3 or more) B-lines or "Comet tail Phenomenon" (CTPh), which was registered in 91.1%. In 40.0% of control group patients we also registered B-lines, but the count of them in was less than 3 lines per each registration point (the difference between control an HF groups was significant). The count of points from where the CTPh was registered was 6.8 in HFpEF gr. and 0.7 in control gr. The B-lines where registered from 3 or more points of thoracic wall in 82.86% of patients of I gr and only 5% in II gr participants. In HF groups CTPh was prominent, protracted and multiple while in the control group it was single and short lasting, like lightening. There was good correlation between the count of B-line registration points from the thoracic wall and the heart failure NYHA class (r=0.56), left ventricular systolic (r=0.40) and diastolic (r=0.32) diameters and negative MAPS and TAPS (r=-0.42 and 0.41 respectively). Conclusion Thoracic US is sensitive and accurate method for evaluation pulmonary congestion in patients with HFpEF. The US sign of pulmonary congestion in HF are B-lines or "Comet tail phenomenon", which is protracted, prominent, multiple and registered from larger area of thoracic wall (3 points or more).