Symptoms and compromised quality of life prevail throughout the course of heart failure (HF) and thus should be specifically addressed with palliative measures. Palliative care for HF should be integrated into comprehensive HF care, just as evidence-based HF care should be included in end-of-life care for HF patients. The neurohormonal and catabolic derangements in HF are at the base of HF symp...

BACKGROUND Circulating adipocyte fatty acid-binding protein (FABP4) levels are considered to be a link between obesity, insulin resistance, diabetes, and cardiovascular (CV) diseases. In vitro, FABP4 has exhibited cardiodepressant activity by suppressing cardiomyocyte contraction. We have explored the relationship between FABP4 and the N-terminal fragment of pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-p...

BACKGROUND Heart failure (HF) patients with higher systolic blood pressure (SBP) survive longer. Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a frequent comorbidity in HF. We evaluated the prognostic significance of low SBP according to DM in acute HF. METHODS We prospectively recruited 589 patients admitted with acute HF. DM was defined according to the 2011 American Diabetes Association recommendations. Patie...

BACKGROUND Heart failure (HF) is associated with excess morbidity and mortality for which noncardiac causes are increasingly recognized. The authors previously described an increased risk of cancer among HF patients compared with community controls. OBJECTIVES This study examined whether HF was associated with an increased risk of subsequent cancer among a homogenous population of first myoca...

AIMS To determine the prevalence of right ventricular (RV) dysfunction in patients with preserved left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (EF) heart failure (HF) and to compare RV function between patients with preserved EF HF and those with reduced EF HF. METHODS AND RESULTS Hundred patients (72 +/- 14 years, 59% male) with HF were prospectively enrolled. Fifty-one had preserved EF HF (LVEF ...

AIMS Appropriate heart failure (HF) care and adequate resourcing require recognition of its clinical, social, and economic importance by the general public besides healthcare authorities and providers. The extent of public awareness in Europe is not known. METHODS AND RESULTS A total of 7958 subjects were randomly selected from nine European countries (minimum 100/group per country). Each com...

OBJECTIVE To analyze health-related cost of heart failure (HF) and to evaluate health-related source utilization aiming to provide data on the economic burden of HF in actual clinical practice in Turkey. METHODS The study used the Delphi process of seeking expert consensus of opinion including 11 cardiologists who are experienced in HF. The standardized questionnaire comprised items to reflec...

OBJECTIVES In Switzerland there is a shortage of population-based information on heart failure (HF) incidence and case fatalities (CF). The aim of this study was to estimate HF event rates and both in- and out-of-hospital CF rates. METHODS Data on HF diagnoses coded according to I 50 (ICD 10) were taken from the Federal Hospital Statistics Database and the Cause of Death Database for the year...

OBJECTIVES To investigate perceived sexual problems in a large group of younger and older patients with heart failure (HF), with and without a partner, focusing on a broad range of perceived sexual problems, and compare this with a sample of healthy community-dwelling elderly people. DESIGN Cross-sectional study. SETTING 17 HF clinics and general practices in The Netherlands. PARTICIPANTS...

BACKGROUND Heart failure (HF) and atrial fibrillation (AF) share common risk factors and often coexist. The combination of HF and AF may carry a worse prognosis than either condition alone; however, the magnitude of this risk remains controversial and it is not known whether the timing of AF influences the risk of death. METHODS AND RESULTS We determined the risk of all-cause mortality in rel...