title: Pharmacological treatment of chronic systolic heart failure: are we scraping the bottom of the barrel?
abstract: Heart failure is a major health problem and its prevalence is growing, primarily as a consequence of the aging of the population. Recently, we have witnessed significant progress in reducing the mortality associated with chronic heart failure due to the introduction of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors, beta-blocking agents and the use of electrical devices. However, the prognosis of heart failure is still so disappointing that it remains the leading cause of death in developed countries. This grim record impels the search for new therapeutic strategies. The objective of this paper is to briefly review the results of some recent trials that have been put in place to test the effects of drugs that are deemed to be potentially capable of improving the prognosis of chronic systolic heart failure patients. Despite compelling theoretical premises, the results to date appear to be weak or even disappointing.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Sciences, University of Padua, via Giustiniani 2, Padua, Italy. elena.abate@unipd.it
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Abate
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sartor
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ceconi
authors.forename: Giovanni M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Boffa
mesh_terms: D002317:Cardiovascular Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D054143:Heart Failure, Systolic / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality; D006801:Humans; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D002317:Cardiovascular Agents