[NON-PHARMACOLOGICAL TREATMENT OF CHRONIC HEART FAILURE]
MERKELY Béla, RÓKA Attila
JULY 14, 2007
Lege Artis Medicinae - 2007;17(06-07)
MERKELY Béla, RÓKA Attila
JULY 14, 2007
Lege Artis Medicinae - 2007;17(06-07)
[Heart failure has a poor prognosis despite the advances in pharmacological treatment. The utilization of non-pharmacological treatment with appropriate indications significantly improves the quality of life and life expectancy of these patients. Cardiac resynchronization therapy with biventricular pacemaker has a clinically proven efficacy in the treatment of heart failure associated with intraventricular dyssynchrony. Implantable cardioverter- defibrillators decrease the mortality from sudden cardiac death. Heart transplantation is needed in cases refractory to therapy. There are several other non-pharmacological treatment approaches, including mechanical circulatory assist devices, total artificial heart and ultrafiltration, whose routine application is not recommended due to limited clinical experience, but the initial results are promising.]
Lege Artis Medicinae
Lege Artis Medicinae
[The beneficial effects of treatment with betablockers in patients with chronic heart failure have been demonstrated in several large, prospective, randomised, placebo-controlled clinical trials. In large trials with mortality as the endpoint, the long-term use of bisoprolol, carvedilol, nevibolol and metoprolol succinate have been associated with a reduction in total mortality, cardiovascular mortality, sudden cardiac death and death due to progression of heart failure in patients of functional classes II-IV. These favorable clinical experiences warrant a recommendation that beta-blockers should be used in all haemodynamically stable heart failure patients with reduced left ventricular systolic function who are on standard treatment, unless contraindicated. In this review, the most important data of clinical trials and practical considerations of therapy with beta-blockers in heart failure are summarized.]
Lege Artis Medicinae
[For the optimal treatment of heart failure patients with systolic dysfunction, supplementation of the standard diuretics plus neurohormonal antagonists treatment with the direct vasodilator combination dihydralazine+nitrate, as well as with digitalis may be necessary. Addition of hydralazine/dihydralazine+nitrate to the treatment of chronic heart failure is recommended if ACE-inhibitors or angiotensin-receptor blockers cannot be administered. Beta blockers should also be used in these cases. If symptoms persist or worsen, addition of this combination to the standard therapy is reasonable. Supplementation with digitalis, mostly digoxin should be considered in similar conditions. It can be especially beneficial for patients with high-ventricular-rate atrial fibrillation. To achieve maximal survival benefit, the dose of digoxin must not exceed 0.125 mg/day. Low body weight or muscle mass, significantly reduced renal function may make further dose reduction necessary. If renal function is severely limited, digitoxin instead of digoxin may be used.]
Lege Artis Medicinae
Lege Artis Medicinae
[Acute heart failure may develop in previously healthy hearts. Nevertheless, structural abnormalities can facilitate its development and also, chronic heart failure can progress into acute stage. Considering the total cost of care in the patient's life, this is the most expensive heart disease. The clinical signs and physical abnormalities are usually of diagnostic power, however, instrumental investigations are necessary to recognize complications and to guide therapy. Patients should be monitored in well equipped coronary care units. Therapy consists of medications, coronary revascularization and use of mechanical assist devices.]
Lege Artis Medicinae
[The incidence and prevalence of heart failure (HF) is constantly increasing, its morbidity and mortality are still high, thus the disease burden is huge and its proper treatment is of paramount importance. Substantial evidence on improving its prognosis remains available only by the treatment of chronic heart failure with reduced left ventricular function (HFrEF). There have been published a number of “milestone” studies in the last decades, the results of which fundamentally determined the HF therapy until recently. Baseline therapy for HFrEF has been placed on three pillars for a long time: angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors (ACEI), beta-blocker (BB), and mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist (MRA) are included in different heart failure guidelines with I/A level recommendation. The ground-breaking highly important PARADIGM-HF study was published in 2014, and examined an entirely new class of drugs, the sacubitril/valsartan, which belongs to the group of angiotensin receptor blocking/neprilysin inhibitors (ARNI) in HFrEF patients. Results of this study showed that sacubitril/valsartan significantly reduced the primary composite endpoint of CV mortality and HF hospitalization by 20% and reduced overall mortality by 16% compared to an active comparator enalapril, which has the broadest evidence in HFrEF therapy. The 2016 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) HF guidelines recommended the use of sacubitril/valsartan with an I/B evidence level as a replacement for an ACEI to further reducing the risk of HF hospitalization and death of out-patients with HFrEF who remained symptomatic despite optimal treatment with an ACEI, a BB and an MRA. Later, several smaller studies concerned sacubitril/valsartan with slightly different indications and in other patient groups. The PIONEER-HF study demonstrated that early initiation of sacubitril/valsartan therapy after the stabilization of acute HF is safe and effective in HFrEF patients, reduces more rapidly the NT-proBNP levels - which correlates with HF prognosis -, than the enalapril. The TRANSITION and TITRATION studies provided useful information on the initiation of sacubitril/valsartan therapy and the strategy of dose titration. The appearance of sacubitril/valsartan opened a new era in HFrEF therapy a few years ago, an era we are actually experiencing in Hungary. Thanks to SGLT-2 inhibitors, it is also possible that we are at the door of an even newer therapeutic era. This question is expected to be answered in the new ESC HF-guidelines to be published soon this year. ]
Hypertension and nephrology
[The heart responds to the damage to the heart muscle with various changes that are regulated by complex processes. If the harm is irreversible, changes that begin as an adaptation can become chronic and permanently worsen heart function. The author details below the pathological remodelling of the left ventricle that can lead to heart failure. It covers the types of heart failure based on the latest recommendations and presents the echocardiographic examination methods that can be used to assess the diastolic, systolic and right ventricular function of the heart.]
Hypertension and nephrology
[Diuretics (especially thiazide derivatives and indapamide that also has vasodilator efficacy) are considered as first line treatment in hypertension. They are particularly favourable in the treatment of overweight, elderly, isolated systolic hypertensive patients suffering from type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome or in mild renal and cardiac insufficiency. They can be ideally combined with other antihypertensive agents (primarily with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blocking agents és béta-blockers). If hypertension is associated with left ventricular hypertrophy or stroke indapamide is the appropriate choice. In case of left ventricular dysfunction and heart failure thiazide and/or furosemide is the adequate option. Low dose diuretics have no clinically relevant side effects and reduce cardiac mortality to the same extent as other pharmaceutical interventions.]
Lege Artis Medicinae
[Acute heart failure may develop in previously healthy hearts. Nevertheless, structural abnormalities can facilitate its development and also, chronic heart failure can progress into acute stage. Considering the total cost of care in the patient's life, this is the most expensive heart disease. The clinical signs and physical abnormalities are usually of diagnostic power, however, instrumental investigations are necessary to recognize complications and to guide therapy. Patients should be monitored in well equipped coronary care units. Therapy consists of medications, coronary revascularization and use of mechanical assist devices.]
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