Open AccessCurrent guidelines in the pharmacological management of chronic heart failure.
Author(s) -
Marco Metra,
Saviodari,
Livio Dei
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
jraas. journal of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system/journal of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.457
H-Index - 46
eISSN - 1752-8976
pISSN - 1470-3203
DOI - 10.3317/jraas.2004.018
Subject(s) - heart failure , digoxin , medicine , diuretic , aldosterone , intensive care medicine , vasodilation , management of heart failure , ace inhibitor , angiotensin converting enzyme , cardiology , blood pressure
Treatment of heart failure has undergone major changes in the last two decades. European and US guidelines have absorbed these major changes and set the new standards. It is therefore mandatory that treatment of heart failure is based on this knowledge. According to these guidelines, patients with chronic symptomatic heart failure should be treated with a diuretic and sometimes digoxin and vasodilators, to relieve symptoms, in addition to an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and/or an angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) and a beta-blocker to improve prognosis. An aldosterone antagonist should be added in patients with more advanced heart failure. Prevention of heart failure has also become a major goal. We summarise here the major issues regarding the pharmacological treatment of chronic heart failure as indicated by the European and US guidelines.