CONTEXT Aldosterone blockade has been used to treat acute myocardial infarction (MI) and chronic heart failure. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study is to summarize the evidence on the efficacy of spironolactone (SP), eplerenone (EP), or canrenoate (CAN) in patients with left ventricular dysfunction. DATA SOURCES A search of multiple electronic databases until June 2008 was supplemented by hand ...

BACKGROUND Noncardiovascular (non-CV) comorbidities may contribute to hospitalizations in patients with heart failure (HF). We examined the incidence of mortality following hospitalization for cardiovascular (CV) versus non-CV reasons in the Candesartan in Heart Failure: Assessment of Reduction in Mortality and Morbidity (CHARM) Program. METHODS AND RESULTS First hospitalizations for CV or no...

AIM The objective of this pilot study was to determine the accuracy of point-of-care B-line lung ultrasound in comparison to NT Pro-BNP for screening acute heart failure. MATERIALS AND METHODS An 8-zone lung ultrasound was performed by experienced sonographers in patients presenting with acute dyspnea in the ED. AHF was determined as the final diagnosis by 2 independent reviewers. RESULTS C...

Objectives The aim of this study was to develop a clinical risk model that is predictive of in-hospital mortality in elderly patients hospitalized with acute heart failure (AHF). Methods 2486 patients who were 60 years and older from intensive care units of Cardiology Department in the hospital were analyzed. Independent risk factors for in-hospital mortality were obtained by binary logistic ...

In some instances, acute myocardial infarction (AMI) may be the precipitating factor both for acute heart failure (AHF) and for diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), with the consequence that the two disorders may occasionally co-exist in the same individual. When de novo AHF has cardiogenic pulmonary oedema as its presenting feature, its co-existence with DKA can pose unique diagnostic and therapeutic ...

BACKGROUND Acute heart failure (AHF) is a leading cause of death in critically ill patients and is often accompanied by significant renal dysfunction. Few data exist on the predictive value of measures of renal dysfunction in large cohorts of patients hospitalized for AHF. METHODS Six hundred and eighteen patients hospitalized for AHF (300 male, aged 73.3 ± 10.3 years, 73% New York Heart Asso...

Most patients presenting with acute heart failure (AHF) show signs and symptoms of fluid overload, which are closely associated with short-term and long-term outcomes. Ultrafiltration is an extremely appealing strategy for patients with AHF and concomitant overt fluid overload not fully responsive to diuretic therapy. However, although there are several theoretical beneficial effects associated...

Acute heart failure (AHF) is a complex clinical syndrome characterized by fluid overload and haemodynamic abnormalities (short-term clinical consequences) and the development of end-organ damage (long-term consequences). Current therapies for the treatment of AHF, such as loop diuretics and vasodilators, help to relieve haemodynamic imbalance and congestion, but have not been shown to prevent (...