Abstract
Heart failure is one of the leading causes of hospitalization worldwide. Currently, most therapeutic strategies are aimed at resolving the acute exacerbation of failure, resulting in a high readmission rate. Despite significant advances in the medical treatment of heart failure, the results are far from perfect. Mortality remains high and hospitalization costly. Surgical management is still required for patients with end-stage heart failure. Unfortu-nately, its evolution has occurred in a less structured fashion. In addition to transplantation, strategies for the treatment of heart failure currently under investigation include implantation of pacemakers, left ventricular reconstruction, mitral valve repair, coronary revascularization, cardiomyoplasty and mechanical circulatory support. In the end however, the surgical management of patients with heart failure rests on the type of underlying cardiomyopathy. Hence, care must be taken to accurately diagnose these patients as either having dilated or ischemic cardiomyopathy.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 287-297 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Minerva cardioangiologica |
Volume | 53 |
Issue number | 4 |
State | Published - Aug 2005 |
Keywords
- Dor procedure
- Heart failure, congestive, surgery
- Heart transplantation
- Left ventricular reconstruction
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine