title: Investigational positive inotropic agents for acute heart failure.
abstract: Acute heart failure represents a major public health problem due to its high prevalence, high rates of mortality and readmissions and significant healthcare costs. Patients with AHF and low cardiac output represent a small subgroup of patients with very high mortality rates that require inotropic support to improve cardiac systolic function. Classical inotropic agents, such as beta1-adrenergic agonists (dobutamine, dopamine) and phosphodiesterase III inhibitors (milrinone, enoximone) improve symptoms and hemodynamics by increasing free intracellular Ca(2+) levels, but also increase myocardial O(2) demands and exert arrhythmogenic effects. These actions explain why these drugs increase both short- and long-term mortality, particularly in patients with AHF and coronary artery disease. Thus, we need new inotropic agents that do not increase cytosolic Ca(2+) or myocardial oxygen demands or produce arrhythmogenesis for the treatment of high-risk patients with acute heart failure and low cardiac output. This review describes three new classes of investigational agents: levosimendan, a calcium sensitizer and potassium channel opener, istaroxime, the first new luso-inotropic agent and cardiac myosin activators.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain. jtamargo@med.ucm.es
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tamargo
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Caballero
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gómez
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barana
authors.forename: Irene
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Amorós
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Delpón
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000818:Animals; D002316:Cardiotonic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic / Q000379:methods; D015507:Drugs, Investigational / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D002316:Cardiotonic Agents; D015507:Drugs, Investigational