title: Management of chronic heart failure in adults: synopsis of the National Institute For Health and clinical excellence guideline.
abstract: METHODS
  The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence released its first clinical guideline on heart failure in 2003. This synopsis describes the update of that guideline, which was released in August 2010 and discusses the diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of heart failure.
  
  
  METHODS
  Guideline developers considered clinical evidence, health economic analyses, clinical expert opinion, and patient views. Systematic literature searches were performed, and an original decision model assessed the cost-effectiveness of serial measurement of serum natriuretic peptide to monitor patients with chronic heart failure.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  First, this guideline update describes the role of serum natriuretic peptide measurement, echocardiography, and specialist assessment in the diagnosis of heart failure. Second, it presents a pathway for pharmacologic treatment, rehabilitation, and pacing therapy (including implantable cardioverter-defibrillator and cardiac resynchronization therapy) for patients with heart failure and left ventricular systolic dysfunction and patients with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction. Finally, it explains the recommendation to monitor patients with heart failure by using serial measurement of serum natriuretic peptide.
authors.affiliation: University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom. jm677@medschl.cam.ac.uk
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mant
authors.forename: Abdallah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Al-Mohammad
authors.forename: Sharon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Swain
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Laramée
mesh_terms: D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000806:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D058406:Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D017147:Defibrillators, Implantable; D004452:Echocardiography; D005081:Exercise Therapy; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods; D020097:Natriuretic Peptide, Brain / Q000097:blood; D013318:Stroke Volume / Q000502:physiology; D018487:Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / Q000503:physiopathology
chemical_list: D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists; D000806:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors; D020097:Natriuretic Peptide, Brain