Heart failure (HF) has a global prevalence of 1–2%, and the incidence around the world is growing. The prevalence increases with age, from around 1% for those aged 10% for those aged 70 years or over. Based on studies in hospitalized patients, about 50% of patients have heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), and 50% have heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). HF is associated with high morbidity and mortality, and HF-related hospitalizations are common, costly, and impact both quality of life and prognosis. More than 5–10% of patients deteriorate into advanced HF (AdHF) with worse outcomes, up to cardiogenic shock (CS) condition. Right heart catheterization (RHC) is essential to assess hemodynamics in the diagnosis and care of patients with HF. The aim of this article is to review the evidence on RHC in various clinical scenarios of patients with HF.

Acute heart failure (AHF) is a complex clinical syndrome characterized by the rapid or gradual onset of symptoms and/or signs of heart failure (HF), leading to an unplanned hospital admission or an emergency department visit. AHF is the leading cause of hospitalization in patients over 65 years, thus significantly impacting public health care. However, its prognosis remains poor with high rates of mortality and rehospitalization. Many pre-existing cardiac conditions can lead to AHF, but it can also arise de novo due to acute events. Therefore, understanding AHF etiology could improve patient management and outcomes. Cardiomyopathies (CMPs) are a heterogeneous group of heart muscle diseases, including dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), restrictive cardiomyopathy (RCM), non-dilated cardiomyopathy (NDLVC), and arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC), that frequently present with HF. Patients with CMPs are under-represented in AHF studies compared to other etiologies, and therefore therapeutic responses and prognoses remain unknown. In DCM, AHF represents the most frequent cause of death despite treatment improvements. Additionally, DCM is the first indication for heart transplant (HT) among young and middle-aged adults. In HCM, the progression to AHF is rare and more frequent in patients with concomitant severe left ventricle (LV) obstruction and hypertrophy or severe LV systolic dysfunction. HF is the natural evolution of patients with RCM and HF is associated with poor outcomes irrespective of RCM etiology. Furthermore, while the occurrence of AHF is rare among patients with ARVC, this condition in NDLVC patients is currently unknown. In this manuscript, we assessed the available evidence on AHF in patients with CMPs. Data on clinical presentation, therapeutic management, and clinical outcomes according to specific CMPs are limited. Future HF studies assessing the clinical presentation, treatment, and prognosis of specific CMPs are warranted.

In the past decades, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has become the most common modality for myocardial revascularization in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) with aspirin and a P2Y12 inhibitor is essential in all patients undergoing PCI to prevent thrombotic complications. A large proportion of patients undergoing PCI also have concomitant atrial fibrillation (AF), thus requiring an oral anticoagulant (OAC) to prevent ischemic stroke or systemic embolism. However, the association between OAC and DAPT further increases the risk of bleeding. Compared with a triple antithrombotic therapy (TAT), dual antithrombotic therapy (DAT) has shown to reduce bleeding events, but at the cost of higher risk of stent thrombosis. In this field, patients with AF undergoing PCI represent a special population with significant challenges, and several strategies are needed to reduce the risk for bleeding complications. In this review, we will discuss both the procedural and antithrombotic strategies to optimize ischemic and bleeding outcomes in patients with AF undergoing PCI.

The elderly represent an increasing proportion of patients presenting with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Various data have shown that the benefits of percutaneous coronary revascularization are maintained in elderly patients presenting with ACS. Conversely, the management of antiplatelet therapy remains challenging and controversial, because older patients are usually at a high risk of both ischemia and bleeding. Moreover, the recommended ischemic and bleeding risk scores in patients with ACS were developed from studies with a low representation of older patients. New antiplatelet strategies have been developed, but their evidence in elderly patients is limited because they are usually underrepresented in randomized clinical trials due to their clinical complexity. The aim of this review is to summarize the different factors associated with increased ischemic and/or bleeding risk and the scientific evidence about the different antiplatelet strategies in elderly patients presenting with ACS and undergoing percutaneous coronary revascularization.