New aspects of pharmacotherapy in acute heart failure

Abstract

Acute heart failure is an important clinical problem. In the USA approximately one million patients are hospitalised annually for acute heart failure, and about 50% of these require readmission within 6–12 months of discharge. Acute heart failure accounts for most hospital admissions among patients over 65 years of age in the USA.
The prognosis in heart failure patients is poor. Mortality at five years is 25% and is higher than in patients with myocardial infarction and some cancers. Despite major progress in chronic heart failure management (Evidence Based Medicine) the treatment of acute heart failure is still empirical. Large multi-centre studies on the pharmacotherapy of acute heart failure are still lacking. The authors discuss management in acute heart failure concerning guidelines of the European Society of Cardiology from 2005 and modern pharmacotherapy.