[Current aspects of drug treatment of patients with congestive heart failure].
Patients with advanced congestive heart failure are high cost users of medical care, are limited by severe symptoms and have a poor prognosis. Medical treatment should therefore not be based on tradition but on pathophysiological considerations. A rational treatment program should give priority to the principle of unburdening rather than stimulating the failing heart. Unburdening the heart by use of diuretics and vasodilators is most effective in patients with hypertensive heart disease and valvular incompetence, and in acute heart failure. Digoxin remains the basic treatment in patients with tachyarrhythmias, and is valuable additive treatment in most instances. Guidelines are given for a stepwise treatment scheme including diuretics, vasodilators and digoxin.
D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D004077:Digoxin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004232:Diuretics / Q000494:pharmacology; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D005996:Nitroglycerin / Q000494:pharmacology; D011224:Prazosin / Q000494:pharmacology; D014665:Vasodilator Agents / Q000494:pharmacology
D004232:Diuretics; D014665:Vasodilator Agents; D004077:Digoxin; D005996:Nitroglycerin; D011224:Prazosin
Neuere Aspekte der medikamentösen Behandlung von herzinsuffizienten Patienten.