Background
Data comparing outcomes in heart failure (
HF
) across Asia are limited. We examined regional variation in mortality among patients with
HF
enrolled in the
ASIAN
‐HF (Asian Sudden Cardiac Death in Heart Failure) registry with separate analyses for those with reduced ejection fraction (
EF
; <40%) versus preserved EF (≥50%).
Methods and Results
The
ASIAN
‐
HF
registry is a prospective longitudinal study. Participants with symptomatic
HF
were recruited from 46 secondary care centers in 3 Asian regions: South Asia (India), Southeast Asia (Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore), and Northeast Asia (South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China). Overall, 6480 patients aged >18 years with symptomatic
HF
were recruited (mean age: 61.6±13.3 years; 27% women; 81% with HF and reduced r
EF
). The primary outcome was 1‐year all‐cause mortality. Striking regional variations in baseline characteristics and outcomes were observed. Regardless of
HF
type, Southeast Asians had the highest burden of comorbidities, particularly diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease, despite being younger than Northeast Asian participants. One‐year, crude, all‐cause mortality for the whole population was 9.6%, higher in patients with HF and reduced
EF
(10.6%) than in those with
HF
and preserved
EF
(5.4%). One‐year, all‐cause mortality was significantly higher in Southeast Asian patients (13.0%), compared with South Asian (7.5%) and Northeast Asian patients (7.4%;
P
<0.001). Well‐known predictors of death accounted for only 44.2% of the variation in risk of mortality.
Conclusions
This first multinational prospective study shows that the outcomes in Asian patients with both HF and reduced or preserved
EF
are poor overall and worst in Southeast Asian patients. Region‐specific risk factors and gaps in guideline‐directed therapy should be addressed to potentially improve outcomes.
Clinical Trial Registration
URL
:
https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/
. Unique identifier:
NCT
01633398.
Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) induces inflammatory responses, and effective endogenous homeostasis is important for preventing systemic inflammation. We assessed whether plasma exosomal microRNAs in patients undergoing cardiac surgery with CPB are involved in the regulation of inflammatory responses. Plasma samples were isolated from CPB patients (n = 21) at 5 specified time points: pre-surgery, pre-CPB and 2 hours (h), 4 h and 24 h after CPB began. Plasma TNF-α expression was increased after CPB began compared to that in the pre-surgery samples. Plasma IL-8 and IL-6 expression peaked at 4 h after CPB began but was downregulated at 24 h. The number of plasma exosomes collected at 2 h (55.1 ± 8.3%), 4 h (63.8 ± 10.1%) and 24 h (83.5 ± 3.72%) after CPB began was significantly increased compared to that in the pre-CPB samples (42.8 ± 0.11%). These exosomes had a predominantly parental cellular origin from RBCs and platelets. Additionally, the plasma exosomal miR-223 levels were significantly increased after CPB began compared to those in the pre-CPB samples. Further, exosomal miR-223 from plasma collected after CPB began downregulated IL-6 and NLRP3 expression in the monocytes. Here, we present the novel findings that increased plasma exosomal miR-223 expression during cardiac surgery with CPB might play homeostatic roles in downregulating inflammatory responses through intercellular communication.
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