AimsThe ESC-HF Pilot survey was aimed to describe clinical epidemiology and 1-year outcomes of outpatients and inpatients with heart failure (HF). The pilot phase was also specifically aimed at validating structure, performance, and quality of the data set for continuing the survey into a permanent Registry. MethodsThe ESC-HF Pilot study is a prospective, multicentre, observational survey conducted in 136 Cardiology Centres in 12 European countries selected to represent the different health systems across Europe. All outpatients with HF and patients admitted for acute HF on 1 day per week for eight consecutive months were included. From October 2009 to May 2010, 5118 patients were included: 1892 (37%) admitted for acute HF and 3226 (63%) patients with chronic HF. The all-cause mortality rate at 1 year was 17.4% in acute HF and 7.2% in chronic stable HF. One-year hospitalization rates were 43.9% and 31.9%, respectively, in hospitalized acute and chronic HF patients. Major regional differences in 1-year mortality were observed that could be explained by differences in characteristics and treatment of the patients. ConclusionThe ESC-HF Pilot survey confirmed that acute HF is still associated with a very poor medium-term prognosis, while the widespread adoption of evidence-based treatments in patients with chronic HF seems to have improved their outcome profile. Differences across countries may be due to different local medical practice as well to differences in healthcare systems. This pilot study also offered the opportunity to refine the organizational structure for a long-term extended European network.--

Aims Co‐morbidities frequently accompany heart failure (HF), contributing to increased morbidity and mortality, and an impairment of quality of life. We assessed the prevalence, determinants, regional variation, and prognostic implications of co‐morbidities in patients with chronic HF in Europe. Methods and results A total of 3226 European outpatients with chronic HF were included in this analysis of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Heart Failure Pilot Survey. The following co‐morbidities were considered: diabetes, hyper‐ and hypothyroidism, stroke, COPD, sleep apnoea, chronic kidney disease (CKD), and anaemia. Prognostic implications of co‐morbidities were evaluated using population attributable risks (PARs), and patients were divided into geographic regions. Clinical endpoints were all‐cause mortality and HF hospitalization. The majority of patients (74%) had a least one co‐morbidity, the most prevalent being CKD (41%), anaemia (29%), and diabetes (29%). Co‐morbidities were independently associated with higher age (P < 0.001), higher NYHA functional class (P < 0.001), ischaemic aetiology of HF (P < 0.001), higher heart rate (P = 0.011), history of hypertension (P < 0.001), and AF (P < 0.001). Only diabetes, CKD, and anaemia were independently associated with a higher risk of mortality and/or HF hospitalization. There were marked regional differences in prevalence and prognostic implications of co‐morbidities. Prognostic implications of co‐morbidities (PARs) were: CKD = 41%, anaemia = 37%, diabetes = 14%, COPD = 10%, and <10% for all other co‐morbidities. Conclusion In this pilot survey, co‐morbidities are prevalent in patients with chronic HF and are related to the severity of the disease. The presence of diabetes, CKD, and anaemia was independently related to increased mortality and HF hospitalization, with the highest PAR for CKD and anaemia.

Background— We developed a prognostic model to assess the risk of all-cause mortality in patients with chronic heart failure. Methods and Results— We examined 6975 patients with chronic heart failure enrolled in the Gruppo Italiano per lo Studio della Streptochinasi nell'Infarto Miocardico-Heart Failure (GISSI-HF) trial (3.9 years follow-up). Multivariable Cox regression models were developed to predict mortality (1969 deaths). By stepwise selection, the full final model included 25 predictors. A reduced model, considering the most significant variables ranked according to the Wald χ 2 ( P <0.0001) accounted for most of the prognostic information. Internal validation of the model was performed with bootstrap techniques. The discrimination ability of the reduced model constituted by 12 factors (concordance probability estimate, 0.693) was as good as the full final model (concordance probability estimate, 0.70). Among the first 12 independent risk factors emerging in the reduced model, the 3 most powerful predictors were older age, higher New York Heart Association class, and lower estimated glomerular filtration rate. Other independent predictors that increased risk included lower left ventricular ejection fraction, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lower systolic blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, male sex, higher uricemia, lower body mass index, lower hemoglobin, and aortic stenosis. The reduced model was used to build a nomogram to estimate the risk of death in individual patients. In a subgroup of patients, the 2 well-known biomarkers (high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide) emerged as the most powerful predictors of outcome. Conclusions— In a large contemporary population with chronic heart failure, this model offers good ability to assess the risk of death, confirming most of the risk factors that have emerged in recent trials. Clinical Trial Registration— URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov . Unique identifier: NCT00336336.

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The multiepitopic TS/PP vaccine induces a tumor-specific immune response in mice and is especially potent when used in combination with 5-FU-based chemotherapy.