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Query: UMLS:C0018801 (heart failure)
 72,216 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

It is difficult to assemble data from an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest since there is often lack of objective information. The true incidence of sudden cardiac death out-of-hospital is not known since far from all of these patients are attended by emergency medical services. The incidence of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest increases with age and is more common among men. Among patients who die, the probability of having a fatal event outside hospital decreases with age; i. e. younger patients tend to more often die unexpectedly and outside hospital. Among the different initial arrhythmias, ventricular fibrillation is the most common among patients with cardiac aetiology. The true distribution of initial arrhythmias is not known since several minutes most often elapse between collapse and rhythm assessment. Most patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest have a cardiac aetiology. Out-of-hospital cardiac arrests most frequently occur in the patient's home, but the prognosis is shown to be better when they occur in a public place. Witnessed arrest, ventricular fibrillation as initial arrhythmia and cardiopulmonary resuscitation are important predictors for immediate survival. In the long-term perspective, cardiac arrest in connection with acute myocardial infarction, high left ventricular ejection fraction, moderate age, absence of other heart failure signs and no history of myocardial infarction promotes better prognosis. Still there is much to learn about time trends, the influence of patient characteristics, comorbidity and hospital treatment among patients with prehospital cardiac arrest.
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PMID:The epidemiology of out-of-hospital 'sudden' cardiac arrest. 1188 28

Necrotizing fasciitis is a soft tissue infection that causes necrosis of subcutaneous tissue and fascia but usually spares skin and muscle. Management of this condition consists of early diagnosis, broad-spectrum antibiotic coverage, aggressive surgical debridement, wound closure, and intensive supportive care. Mortality estimates reported in the literature have ranged from 20 to 75%. We report the cases of 12 patients treated at the Joseph M. Still Burn Center in Augusta, GA. Because aggressive surgical debridement combined with medical support is required for successful treatment, we recommend that treatment be administered at a burn care center. We performed a retrospective chart review of all patients admitted to our center with a diagnosis of necrotizing fascitis between May 1, 1995, and June 1, 2000. Patients were managed collaboratively by burn surgeons and critical care intensivists in consultation with other appropriate specialists. The mean time from initial diagnosis until transfer to the burn center was 14 days (range, 0-60 d). Complications included pneumonia, heart failure, metabolic abnormalities, anemia, and sepsis. Four (33%) of the 12 patients died, with the primary cause of death being multiorgan failure. Although our sample size is too small to reach statistical significance, the data suggest that early referral to a burn or wound care center improves patient outcome.
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PMID:Experience with necrotizing fasciitis at a burn care center. 1451 81

Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is a promising technique for patients with end-stage, drug-refractory heart failure. Still 20-30% of the patients treated with CRT do not respond. Accordingly, the current selection criteria need to be refined, and it appears that demonstration of left ventricular dyssynchrony may be mandatory for response to CRT. Novel echocardiographic methods are currently investigated to detect left ventricular dyssynchrony and thereby improve the selection of candidates for CRT. In this brief review, these techniques will be discussed.
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PMID:Myocardial tissue Doppler echocardiography and cardiac resynchronization therapy. 1467 52

The management of a department of cardiology has to plan the capacity of both elective and non-elective patients. Heart failure (HF) patients are admitted to the hospital in a non-elective way. The precision with which the capacity needed for non-elective patients can be predicted determines the degree of flexibility in planning the admission of elective patients. In this study we want to determine how accurately we can predict the bed occupancy of HF patients using a simulation model. Data of the year 2000 were used to obtain the necessary probability distribution functions. Data from the year 2001 were used for determining the prediction accuracy. The results show that the arrival of new HF patients can be adequately predicted. However, the bed occupancy by new and especially current patients is predicted less accurately. Still in 70% (90%) of the days of a 5-day-prediction interval the error is at most one (two) bed(s). The results may improve if the cardiologist is asked to predict the length of stay of the current patients.
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PMID:Predicting capacities required in cardiology units for heart failure patients via simulation. 1501 94

Remarkable improvements in morbidity and mortality caused by heart failure have been realized because of a greater understanding of the pathobiologic mechanisms of left ventricular dysfunction and the subsequent application of neurohormonal antagonism to the heart failure milieu. The median survival of patients with chronic heart failure has greatly increased with the use of effective medical therapy that includes angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and beta-blockers, especially carvedilol. Still to be addressed is the issue of clinical trials that under represent special populations of patients who are affected with heart failure (eg, the elderly, women, and African Americans). Even though heart failure may be a somewhat different illness in etiology, epidemiology, or responsiveness to medical therapy for each of these groups, it is of utmost importance that patients affected by heart failure be treated with agents that have been shown to be of benefit in the major controlled clinical trials in heart failure.
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PMID:Special considerations for carvedilol use in heart failure. 1514 41

In heart failure patients with a large QRS width, biventricular pacing has been shown to improve the fonctional status as well as hemodynamic parameters. However, there are non-responders despite of wide QRS complexes (between 15 and 35%). Patients selection might not rely only on electrical parameters. From an electrophysiological concept, clinicians moved toward a more electromechanical analysis, by using non-invasive tools such as Tissue Doppler imaging. Thereby, more than the QRS width, identification of intra-left ventricular asynchrony appears to be a crucial criterion for selecting responders to biventricular pacing. From this fact, several studies have demonstrated the efficacy of biventricular pacing to improve heart failure patients with narrow QRS but with intra-left ventricular asynchrony. Another parameter has been thought to be predominant, i.e. the left ventricular pacing site. If the pacing lead is located within a "slow conduction" area (at this time very difficult to identify during the implant procedure), biventricular pacing will generate a new asynchrony counteracting the beneficial expected. Thus, biventricular pacing appears to be more an electromechanical concept than exclusively electrical for selecting responders. Still, the optimal location of the left ventricular pacing lead remains to be determined.
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PMID:[Patient selection for biventricular pacing]. 1570 4

Cardiac transplantation still remains the gold standard despite recent success in organ-preserving therapy. However, organ shortage forces to process alternative therapies. Cardiac resynchronization therapy and cardiac contractility modulation are new and promising therapies, which are able either to delay or even prevent the need for cardiac transplantation. High-risk cardiac revascularization and valve replacement is another important therapy in especially evaluated patients. With newer organ-protective procedures and novel treatment options like the off-pump bypass surgery, end-stage heart failure could be treated successfully. The volume reduction surgery, the so-called Batista procedure, has its indication only in special selected patients with dilated cardiomyopathy. A modified procedure, the surgical ventricular restoration (SVR) therapy, however, has a definitive potential and is evaluated in a multicenter trial (RESTORE). Mechanical cardiac assist devices have still a high impact in the therapy of acute or chronic end-stage heart failure. By means of smaller devices with axial rotary blades, the high rates of thromboembolic events, infections and mechanical device complications were significantly reduced. Survival to transplant with mechanical assist device support is nowadays around 80%. New centrifugal pumps are tested in clinical trials right now. Passive cardiac support devices and the total artificial heart are limited to special indications. The organ shortage could be overcome with the xenotransplantation. However, the problem of hyperacute rejection and the risk of transfection of animal diseases limit the clinical use considerably. The cell therapy has probably the highest potential for the future. Still unsolved are problems with the potential trigger of arrhythmias and ethical preconceptions regarding embryonic stem cells. In summary, cardiac transplantation still remains the gold standard in the therapy of end-stage heart failure with 10-year survival rates of 50%. With increasing donor shortage a potential combination therapy of organ-preserving cardiac surgery and cell transplantation might be the future for the 21st century.
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PMID:[Surgical therapy of end-stage heart failure. State of the art 2006]. 1694 64

The revised guideline 'Diabetes mellitus type 2' contains several improvements. The HbA1C target level has been lowered to 7% or less. The universal first step in oral therapy has become metformin. The target level for the treatment of hypertension is now a systolic pressure below 140 mmHg. Statins should be prescribed to almost every patient. Finally, ACE-inhibitors are now suggested for all patients with microalbuminuria and hypertension. Some choices made in the present guideline are not evidence-based, e.g. the advice to prescribe pioglitazone to patients with both a body mass index above 27 kg/m2 and cardiovascular disease, but without heart failure. Still, in general, the updated guideline is an important document which has been greatly improved in comparison to the former one.
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PMID:[The practice guideline 'Diabetes mellitus type 2' (second revision) from the Dutch College of General Practitioners; a response from the perspective of internal medicine]. 1709 45

Cardiac pacing is the only effective treatment for patients with sick sinus syndrome and atrioventricular conduction disorders. In cardiac pacing, the endocardial pacing lead is typically positioned at the right ventricular (RV) apex. At the same time, there is increasing indirect evidence, derived from large pacing mode selection trials and observational studies, that conventional RV apical pacing may have detrimental effects on cardiac structure and left ventricular function, which are associated with the development of heart failure. These detrimental effects may be related to the abnormal electrical and mechanical activation pattern of the ventricles (or ventricular dyssynchrony) caused by RV apical pacing. Still, it remains uncertain if the deterioration of left ventricular function as noted in a proportion of patients receiving RV apical pacing is directly related to acutely induced left ventricular dyssynchrony. The upgrade from RV pacing to cardiac resynchronization therapy may partially reverse the deleterious effects of RV pacing. It has even been suggested that selected patients with a conventional pacemaker indication should receive cardiac resynchronization therapy to avoid the deleterious effects. This review will provide a contemporary overview of the available evidence on the detrimental effects of RV apical pacing. Furthermore, the available alternatives for patients with a standard pacemaker indication will be discussed. In particular, the role of cardiac resynchronization therapy and alternative RV pacing sites in these patients will be reviewed.
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PMID:The effects of right ventricular apical pacing on ventricular function and dyssynchrony implications for therapy. 1969 53

Rising prevalence and disease-related costs render chronic heart failure a rapidly growing socioeconomic challenge. Guideline-adjusted diagnosis and appropriate therapy are successful in improving mortality, morbidity, functional status and quality of life of patients with chronic left ventricular failure. Corresponding state-of-art recommendations were recently published in the updated European and American treatment guidelines. They determine a stepwise escalation of pharmacological and surgical treatment measures according to increasing disease severity. Still, the complexity of the heart failure syndrome demands to tailor diagnostic procedures and therapy to the patients' individual needs and circumstances.
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PMID:[Treatment of chronic left ventricular failure]. 1992 Nov 9


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