Beta-blocker therapy in unstable severe heart failure, evidence or experience?

New advances in beta-blocker therapy in heart failure

The use of β-blockers (BB) in heart failure (HF) has been considered a contradiction for many years. Considering HF simply as a state of inadequate systolic function, BB were contraindicated because of their negative effects on myocardial contractility. Nevertheless, evidence collected in the past years have suggested that additional mechanisms, such as compensatory neuro-humoral hyperactivatio...

Beta-blocker use in decompensated heart failure.

Despite the current advances in treatment, acute decompensated heart failure accounts for more than 1 million hospital admissions annually. Many of the patients hospitalized are already receiving long-term treatment with beta-blockers. For patients who receive full dose beta-blocker therapy and suffer acute decompensated heart failure, clinicians face two key questions: what to do, if anything,...

Continuation or withdrawal of beta-blocker therapy in patients admitted for heart failure.

Trends and inequities in beta-blocker prescribing for heart failure.

BACKGROUND Treatment with specific beta-blockers reduces mortality and hospitalisation in heart failure. AIM To describe trends and inequities in beta-blocker prescribing for heart failure. DESIGN OF STUDY Repeated cross-sectional analysis of a nationally representative primary care database (DIN-LINK). SETTING A total of 152 UK general practices. METHOD Prescribing of beta-blockers bet...

Beta-blocker treatment of stable heart failure in primary care.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES Beta-blocker treatment of stable heart failure in primary care. The objective was to evaluate the feasibility and tolerability of uptitrating beta-blockers in patients with stable systolic heart failure seen in primary care. METHODS Before and after intervention study. The study was conducted in two primary care centers in Barcelona, Spain. Consecutive samples of p...