The concept of ''diastolic'' heart failure grew out of the observation that many patients who have the symptoms and signs of heart failure had an apparently normal left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction. Thus it was assumed that since systolic function was ''pre- served'' the problem must lie in diastole, although it is not clear by whom or when this assumption was made. Nevertheless, many gui...

During treatment of acute heart failure (AHF), worsening renal function is often complicated and results in a complex clinical course. Furthermore, renal dysfunction is a strong independent predictor of long-term adverse outcomes in patients with AHF. Traditionally, the predominant cause of renal dysfunction has been attributed to impairment of cardiac output and relative underfilling of arteri...

Early invasive treatments in patients with acute heart failure (AHF) are critical components to improve outcome. We aimed to establish if such treatments were applied according to existing guidelines and also to assess the subsequent mortality in the complete AHF population. All patients with AHF admitted to the intensive care unit/coronary care unit during the years 2003-2004 (n=302) were retr...

Percutaneous Transluminal Caval-flow Regulation (PTCR) is an emerging alternative therapy to treat patients with acute heart failure (AHF). AHF represents the first cause of hospitalization in elderly persons and main determinant huge healthcare expenditure related (HF). Despite therapeutic advances, prognosis poor, in-hospital mortality ranging from 4% 7%, 60 90-day mortality. To reverse this ...

OBJECTIVES This study assessed the comparative frequency of precipitating clinical factors leading to hospitalization among heart failure (HF) patients with reduced, borderline, and preserved ejection fraction (EF) BACKGROUND: There are few data assessing the comparative frequency of clinical factors leading to HF among hospitalized among patients with reduced, borderline, and preserved EF. M...

Although the prognosis of ambulatory heart failure (HF) has improved dramatically there have been few advances in the management of acute HF (AHF). Despite regional differences in patient characteristics, background therapy, and event rates, AHF clinical trial enrollment has transitioned from North America and Western Europe to Eastern Europe, South America, and Asia-Pacific where regulatory bu...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Acute heart failure (AHF) is associated with a poor prognosis and it requires repeated hospitalizations. However, there are few studies on the characteristics, treatment and prognostic factors of AHF. The aims of this study were to describe the clinical characteristics, management and outcomes of the patients hospitalized for AHF in Korea. SUBJECTS AND METHODS We ana...

BACKGROUND In heart failure patients, mean platelet volume (MPV) may reflect increased platelet activation or increased numbers of large, hyper-aggregable platelets. B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) concentration in blood is a sensitive and specific marker of heart failure, correlating with the severity and prognosis of illness, in patients presenting with acute dyspnea to the emergency departm...

Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) or diastolic heart failure (HF) accounts for approximately half of HF cases in the community, and the portion of HF with preserved ejection fraction (EF) is increasing. Patients with HFpEF have limited functional capacity and poor prognosis. With ongoing shifts in the age distribution of the po...

Acute heart failure (AHF) is a life threatening clinical syndrome with a progressively increasing incidence in general population. Turkey is a country with a high cardiovascular mortality and recent national statistics show that the population structure has turned to an 'aged' population.As a consequence, AHF has become one of the main reasons of admission to cardiology clinics. This consensus ...