Is the Ratio of Pulmonary Artery to Aortic Diameter Akin to Heart Failure's Hemoglobin A1c?

Markers of disease chronicity are useful tools in a variety of diseases. For example, in diabetes, the glycated hemoglobin (hemoglobin A1c) level reflects chronic glucose management. With heart failure, markers of acute decompensations, such as pro-brain naturietic peptide (pro-BNP) levels and altered hemodynamics, do not readily predict the chronic condition, nor do they predict heart failure stage in the compensated state.1 In this issue of the Journal, Chimura and colleagues at Osaka University in Japan look for new clues to predict heart failure progression in a population of New York Heart Association (NYHA) Functional Class III and IV dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) patients.
Source: The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation - Category: Transplant Surgery Authors: Tags: Editorial Source Type: research