Surgical treatment of chronic heart failure. What to tell patients about heart-saving options.
Patients with severe, chronic heart failure can be managed by several surgical techniques that lead to cure for some or provide a bridge to heart transplantation for others. Although transplantation is currently the only proved curative therapy for end-stage heart failure, the supply of donor hearts has not kept pace with the demand. Therefore, procedures such as reduction ventriculoplasty, transmyocardial laser revascularization, or dynamic cardiomyoplasty and the use of assist devices or artificial hearts hold promise for helping patients maintain heart function until a cure can be offered.
University of Chicago Hospitals, 5841 S Maryland Ave, MC 5040, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. jayakar@surgery.bsd.uchicago.edu
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D018421:Cardiomyoplasty; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000145:classification / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D016027:Heart Transplantation; D006353:Heart-Assist Devices; D006801:Humans; D007423:Intra-Aortic Balloon Pumping; D053685:Laser Therapy; D009204:Myocardial Revascularization; D010101:Oxygen Consumption; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D018579:Patient Selection; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013318:Stroke Volume