title: Is there a role for positive inotropic agents in congestive heart failure: focus on mortality.
abstract: Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a common clinical syndrome that may result from a variety of etiologies. Impaired contractility can lead to pump failure and a number of hemodynamic and neurohormonal alterations. Vasodilator therapy improves symptoms and survival in patients with CHF due to systolic dysfunction. Inotropic therapy, on the other hand, has not been shown to improve survival and may even worsen survival. This article reviews the mechanism of action and clinical trials of inotropic therapy in patients with CHF.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of California at San Francisco 94143-0124.
authors.forename: T M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Amidon
authors.forename: W W
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Parmley
mesh_terms: D002316:Cardiotonic Agents / Q000145:classification / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality; D006801:Humans; D016019:Survival Analysis
chemical_list: D002316:Cardiotonic Agents