title: Ultrafiltration for congestive heart failure.
abstract: Relief of congestive symptoms is a primary goal in treating heart failure. Ultrafiltration is a tool that can be used to safely remove sodium and water from whole blood at a controlled rate. Ultrafiltration decreases symptoms, relieves congestion, and improves hemodynamics, neurohormonal balance, and exercise capacity. This article describes the importance of congestion as a therapeutic target in heart failure and outlines the development of ultrafiltration as a treatment to address this important physiologic state.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Hennepin County Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN 55415, USA.
authors.forename: Marit
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Thorsgard
authors.forename: Bradley A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Bart
mesh_terms: D004232:Diuretics / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D045604:Extracellular Fluid / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D017583:Hemodiafiltration / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D012964:Sodium / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004232:Diuretics; D012964:Sodium