The increasing prevalence of heart failure emphasises the need for effective prevention strategies; brain-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) has been found to identify those at highest risk of cardiovascular events and heart failure. Therefore the purpose of this study was to determine whether using BNP and collaborative care could reduced newly diagnosed heart failure cases and […]
Category: Heart Failure
CELLWAVE: bone marrow cells improve ventricular function
In patients with chronic postinfarction heart failure, bone marrow-derived mononuclear cell (BMC) therapy has demonstrated mixed results to date. One possible reason for this is that cell retention by the heart is more difficult in the stable setting in comparison to therapies given following acute myocardial infarction, however a recent discovery found that extracorporeal application […]
Erythropoietin fails to improve outcomes in heart failure
Anaemia is common in patients with systolic heart failure and is associated with lower functional capacity, worse quality of life, and higher rates of hospitalization and death. The cause of anaemia in these patients is often unclear but may be related to an absolute or relative deficiency of, or resistance to, erythropoietin. In this study […]
Sildenafil shows no benefit in HFPEF
Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFPEF) is now felt to be the most common form of heart failure in the community, and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Currently, effective therapies are needed as trials of traditional renin-angiotensin antagonists have failed to show an improvement in outcomes or clinical status. Experimental work has […]
Aldo-DHF: spironolactone improves diastolic function
Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HF-PEF) accounts for more than 50% of heart failure cases. To date, medical therapy has failed to show improvements in diastolic dysfunction, cardiac remodelling, or cardiovascular outcomes. As mineralocorticoid receptor activation by aldosterone contributes to the pathophysiology of HF through several different mechanisms, the Aldosterone Receptor Blockade in Diastolic […]
Cinacalcet fails to improve cardiovascular outcomes in dialysis
The risk of cardiovascular death in patients with chronic kidney disease is increased by a factor of ten in comparison with the general population. While a host of factors including chronic inflammation, increased oxidative stress and endothelial dysfunction contribute to this risk, disorders of mineral metabolism, including secondary hyperparathyroidism, are thought to contribute by promoting […]
Acute heart failure with deteriorating renal function: no role found for ultrafiltration
Deteriorating renal function in patients with heart failure is a common situation, affecting approximately a third of patients presenting with acute pulmonary oedema, and is associated with worse outcomes. Due to the potentially nephrotoxic nature of many heart failure therapies, renal failure leads to difficult treatment decisions regarding ongoing diuretic therapy. Few options yet exist […]
Bone marrow cells as therapy for ischaemic cardiomyopathy
Two trials in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) address the impact of bone marrow-derived cell therapy on safety and surrogate endpoints in patients with ventricular dysfunction due to ischaemic heart disease. […]
PARAMOUNT offers hope for HF-PEF
Inhibition of the renin-angiotensin system with ACE-inhibitors or ARBs has failed to convincingly show that these drugs can improve survival and lower the risk of hospitalisation in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HF-PEF). LCZ696 is a novel investigational combination angiotensin-receptor/neprilysin inhibitor (ARNI) consisting of valsartan and AHU-377 in a 1:1 mixture. AHU-377 […]
Berlin heart beats ECMO for childhood heart failure
Heart failure is uncommon in children but carries a poor prognosis with 46% of children with severe systolic dysfunction dying or undergoing transplantation within five years. Survival among children after heart transplantation is 83% at 3 years, but the limited availability of donor hearts prolongs the waiting period, resulting in a high rate of death […]