title: New Insights in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Heart Failure.
abstract: Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality in the US and in westernized countries with ischemic heart disease accounting for the majority of these deaths. Paradoxically, the improvements in the medical and surgical treatments of acute coronary syndrome are leading to an increasing number of "survivors" who are then developing heart failure. Despite considerable advances in its management, the gold standard for the treatment of end-stage heart failure patients remains heart transplantation. Nevertheless, this procedure can be offered only to a small percentage of patients who could benefit from a new heart due to the limited availability of donor organs. The aim of this review is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of innovative approaches in the diagnosis and treatment of patients refractory to standard medical therapy and excluded from cardiac transplantation lists.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA ; DIBINEM, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Giulio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Agnetti
authors.affiliation: Heart Failure Unit, Cardiology Department, Guglielmo da Saliceto Hospital, 29121 Piacenza, Italy.
authors.forename: Massimo F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Piepoli
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, University Hospital Lausanne, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Siniscalchi
authors.affiliation: Cardiac Surgery Unit, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Parma, Via A. Gramsci 14, 43126 Parma, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Nicolini
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood*; D002316:Cardiotonic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D013504:Cardiovascular Surgical Procedures / Q000639:trends*; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000628:therapy*; D006353:Heart-Assist Devices / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D002316:Cardiotonic Agents