Acute Decompensated Heart Failure (acute + decompensat_heart_failure)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Early Vasoactive Drugs Improve Heart Failure Outcomes

CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE, Issue 6 2009
William Frank Peacock MD
Vasoactive therapy is often used to treat acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF). The authors sought to determine whether clinical outcomes are temporally associated with time to vasoactive therapy (vasoactive time) in ADHF. Using the Acute Decompensated Heart Failure (ADHERE) Registry, the authors examined the relationship between vasoactive time and inpatient mortality within 48 hours of hospitalization. Vasoactive agents were used early (defined as <6 hours) in 22,788 (63.8%) patients and late in 12,912 (36.2%). Median vasoactive time was 1.7 and 14.7 hours in the early and late groups, respectively. In-hospital mortality was significantly lower in the early group (odds ratio, 0.87; 95% confidence interval, 0.79,0.96; P=.006), and the adjusted odds of death increased 6.8% for every 6 hours of treatment delay (95% confidence interval, 4.2,9.6; P<.0001). Early vasoactive initiation is associated with improved outcomes in patients hospitalized for ADHF. [source]


Outcomes Associated With Nesiritide Administration for Acute Decompensated Heart Failure in the Emergency Department Observation Unit: A Single Center Experience

CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE, Issue 3 2009
Joseph F. Styron BA
The authors' purpose was to determine 30- and 180-day readmission and mortality rates for acutely decompensated heart failure patients receiving nesiritide in the emergency department observation unit. The authors conducted a retrospective evaluation of all patients admitted to the emergency department observation unit, stratified by nesiritide administration, from January 2002 to January 2004. Eligible patients had a primary diagnosis of acutely decompensated heart failure. Observation unit treatment was by previously published protocols, except for nesiritide administration, which was per attending physician choice. Of 595 patients, 196 (33%) received nesiritide. The crude and adjusted odds ratios comparing readmission rates and mortality rates of the nesiritide group with the control group failed to demonstrate significant differences at either the 30- or the 180-day endpoints. The use of nesiritide for acute decompensated heart failure in the emergency department observation unit is not associated with mortality or readmission differences compared with standard therapy alone. [source]


Usefulness of Serial Assessment of Natriuretic Peptides in the Emergency Department for Patients With Acute Decompensated Heart Failure

CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE, Issue 4 2008
Salvatore DiSomma MD
The value of natriuretic peptides, both B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and N-terminal prohormone brain natriuretic peptide (NTproBNP), for determining diagnosis, severity, and prognosis of emergency department (ED) patients with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) has been well documented. Emerging data support the hypothesis that repeated natriuretic peptide determinations in the acute phase of ADHF may assist in confirming the diagnosis, monitoring drug therapy, and evaluating the adequacy of patient stabilization. Data from the authors' group demonstrate that in patients admitted to the ED for acute dyspnea, serial NTproBNP measurement at admission and 4, 12, and 24 hours later was useful in confirming the diagnosis of ADHF compared with patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Moreover, in the same patients receiving intensive intravenous diuretic therapy, there was a progressive reduction of NTproBNP blood levels from hospitalization to discharge (P<.001), accompanied by clinical improvement and stabilization of heart failure. More recently, the authors also demonstrated that in ADHF patients improving with diuretics, a progressive reduction in BNP levels was observed, starting 24 hours after ED admission and continuing until discharge. Comparing BNP and NTproBNP, there was a significant correlation between NTproBNP and BNP levels but not between NTproBNP's and BNP's percent variation compared with baseline. In ADHF, serial ED measurements of BNP are useful for monitoring the effects of treatment. A reduction in BNP from admission to discharge is indicative of clinical improvement. [source]


Going for Gold, from Beijing to Munich, Highlights from the ESC 2008 Congress: BEAUTIFUL, GISSI-HF, and Potential New Therapies for Acute Decompensated Heart Failure

CARDIOVASCULAR THERAPEUTICS, Issue 4 2008
Paul Kalra
Formerly Cardiovascular Drug Reviews http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/CATH [source]