Treatment of Heart Failure: Current Recommendation

The impaired left ventricular emptying that characterizes heart failure may result from a variety of cardiac diseases, including myocardial ischaemia or infarction (that alters regional function), cardiomyopathies ( that alter global function), and pressure or overload states (that lead to hypertrophy and dilatation of the chamber). This functional abnormality of the left ventricle is an important contributor to symptoms of heart failure and plays a critical role in the sodium retention that leads to congestion in the pulmonary circulation and oedema in the systemic circulation. Consequently, efforts to enhance the contractile force of the left ventricle have characterized strategies for the management of heart failure for the past generation.