INTRODUCTION In the prospective, open-label multicenter INTENSIFY study, the effectiveness and tolerability of ivabradine as well as its impact on quality of life (QOL) in chronic systolic heart failure (CHF) patients were evaluated over a 4-month period. METHODS In CHF patients with an indication for treatment with ivabradine, resting heart rate (HR), heart failure symptoms [New York Heart A...

BACKGROUND B-Type natriuretic peptide (BNP), a protein released from the left ventricle in response to volume expansion and pressure overload, has emerged as the first whole blood marker for the identification of individuals with congestive heart failure (CHF). OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to assess the performance of a point-of-care assay to diagnose and evaluate the severity of C...

background: percutaneous balloon mitral valvotomy (bmv) is the gold standard treatment for rheumatic mitral stenosis (ms) in that it causes significant changes in mitral valve area (mva) and improves leaflet mobility. development of or increase in mitral regurgitation (mr) is common after bmv. this study evaluated mr severity and its changes after bmv in iranian patients. methods: w e prospecti...

background: heart failure is a severe chronic disease and has a negative impact on the health-related quality of life (hrql). in addition to preventing disease progress, one of the important goals in heart failure treatment is to improve the patient’s quality of life. this study is aimed to compare three generic to specific quality of life instruments that are used in cardiac rehabilitation set...

OBJECTIVES The InSync III study evaluated sequential cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) in patients with moderate-to-severe heart failure and prolonged QRS. BACKGROUND Simultaneous CRT improves hemodynamic and clinical performance in patients with moderate-to-severe heart failure (HF) and a wide QRS. Recent evidence suggests that sequentially stimulating the ventricles might provide addi...

AIMS Dronedarone is a new multichannel blocking antiarrhythmic drug for treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF). In patients with recently decompensated congestive heart failure (CHF) and depressed LV function, the drug was associated with excess mortality compared with a placebo group. The present study aimed to analyse in detail the effects of dronedarone on mortality and morbidity in AF patien...

BACKGROUND Recently, the deleterious effects of left bundle branch block (LBBB) on left ventricular systolic function have been taken into consideration. OBJECTIVES The present study aimed to identify underlying factors that predict left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) deterioration in patients suffered from complete LBBB. PATIENTS AND METHODS In a retrospective case-control study, the...

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to investigate in dialysis patients with symptomatic heart failure New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class II or III whether the addition of carvedilol to conventional therapy is associated with beneficial effects on cardiac architecture, function and clinical status. BACKGROUND Congestive heart failure (CHF) in chronic hemodialyzed patients, pa...