title: Heart failure.
abstract: Despite advances in management of heart failure, the condition remains a major public-health issue, with high prevalence, poor clinical outcomes, and large health-care costs. Risk factors are well known and, thus, preventive strategies should have a positive effect on disease burden. Treatment of established systolic chronic heart failure includes use of agents that block the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone and sympathetic nervous systems to prevent adverse remodelling, to reduce symptoms and prolong survival. Diuretics are used to achieve and maintain euvolaemia. Devices have a key role in management of advanced heart failure and include cardiac resynchronisation in patients with evidence of cardiac dyssynchrony and implantation of a cardioverter defibrillator in individuals with low ejection fraction. Approaches for treatment of acute heart failure and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction are supported by little clinical evidence. Emerging strategies for heart failure management include individualisation of treatment, novel approaches to diagnosis and tracking of therapeutic response, pharmacological agents aimed at new targets, and cell-based and gene-based methods for cardiac regeneration.
authors.affiliation: Centre of Cardiovascular Research and Education in Therapeutics, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
authors.forename: Henry
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Krum
authors.forename: William T
authors.initials: WT
authors.lastname: Abraham
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D002317:Cardiovascular Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D017147:Defibrillators, Implantable; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D010166:Palliative Care; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D002317:Cardiovascular Agents