Heart Rate Modeling

Can increasing heart rate in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) improve outcomes? Yes, according to the new study by Klein et al. In this podcast Associate Editor Fabio Recchia (Temple University Lewis Katz School of Medicine, and Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy) interviews lead author Markus Meyer (University of Vermont College of Medicine) and content expert Jonathan Kirk (Loyola University Chicago) about the work by Meyer and co-authors, which challenges the “canonical thought” of heart pacing in HFpEF patients. Using a large animal model of HFpEF, and taking key inspiration from a unique bedside-to-bench experience, Meyer and colleagues found that two weeks of cardiac pacing at a fixed rate 30 beats per minute above spontaneous heart rate in pigs resulted in slightly increased heart chamber volumes, but reduced left ventricular wall thickness, decreased myocardial fibrosis, and improved diastolic compliance. Does this approach improve left ventricular response to stress? Listen and learn.

 

Franziska J. Klein, Stephen Bell, K. Elisabeth Runte, Robert Lobel, Takamuru Ashikaga, Lilach O. Lerman, Martin M. LeWinter, Markus Meyer Heart rate-induced modifications of concentric left ventricular hypertrophy: exploration of a novel therapeutic concept Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, published October 1, 2016. DOI: 10.1152/ajpheart.00301.2016