Cardio-pulmonary interaction in HFpEF (A04)

• Subject Area: Cardiology, Angiology ; Anatomy and Physiology
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 437531118

The majority of patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) develop secondary pulmonary hypertension (PH) and subsequent right ventricular (RV) failure. The underlying mechanisms are not well understood, but involve passive congestion, active vascular remodeling with impaired pulmonary gas exchange and systemic activation of the immune system. Here, we propose a mechanistic interdependence of these processes, in that active recruitment of immune cells into the lung´s perivascular space drives lung vascular remodeling thus impairing pulmonary gas exchange. The ensuing systemic hypoxemia will in turn promote systemic inflammation and accelerate the decline in left ventricular (LV) and right ventricular (RV) function.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1470: Multilevel mechanistic characterisation of Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction - Towards a novel classification of HFpEF for targeted therapies
• Applicant Institution: shared FU Berlin and HU Berlin through:; Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin
• Project Heads: Dr. Jana Grune; Professor Dr. Wolfgang Kübler