Management of Chronic Congestive Heart Failure in Children.
The medical management of congestive heart failure involves manipulating myocardial contractility and loading conditions to achieve optimal performance. Medication may be used to counteract potentially deleterious neurohumoral changes that are associated with congestive heart failure. When appropriate, the correction of the underlying cardiac defect by surgery or catheter intervention is usually the most effective treatment for congestive heart failure in children.
Department of Pediatrics, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, 1465 S. Grand Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63104, USA. balfoui@slu.edu
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