title: Heart failure therapy in children.
abstract: The most common reason for heart failure in children is volume overload secondary to a left-to-right shunt. Therefore, an accurate diagnosis with identification of possible surgical or interventional reactions should be the first priority. Medical therapy is mainly based on diuretics, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, cardiac glycosides and beta-blockers. There are few prospective trials in pediatric cardiology, but the available data reach a similar conclusion to that of adults with heart failure. Diuretics are an important tool in patients with fluid retention, and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors are helpful in patients with volume overload of the ventricles. Cardiac glycosides are still in use, but there is a trend toward primary use of diuretics. Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and beta-blockers have been used successfully in the treatment of heart failure in children, but there are limited data on its efficacy.
authors.affiliation: Barneklinikken, Rikshospitalet, 0027 Oslo, Norway. odland@rikshospitalet.no
authors.forename: Hans Henrik
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Odland
authors.forename: Erik M D
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Thaulow
mesh_terms: D002317:Cardiovascular Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D002317:Cardiovascular Agents