Sunday, February, 12, 2012

Heart failure

Table of Contents

Your doctor may prescribe the following medications:

  • ACE inhibitors such as captopril, enalapril, lisinopril, and ramipril to open up blood vessels and decrease the work load of the heart
  • Diuretics including hydrochlorothiazide, chlorthalidone, chlorothiazide, furosemide, torsemide, bumetanide, and spironolactone to help rid your body of fluid and salt (sodium)
  • Digitalis glycosides to help the heart muscle to contract properly and help treat some heart rhythm disturbances
  • Angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) such as losartan and candesartan for those who have side effects with ACE inhibitors
  • Beta-blockers such as carvedilol and metoprolol, which may be helpful for some patients

Certain medications may make heart failure worse and should be avoided. These include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, thiazolidinediones, metformin, cilostazol, PDE-5 inhibitors (sildenafil, vardenafil), and many drugs that treat abnormal heart rhythms.

SURGERIES AND DEVICES

Heart valve surgery, coronary bypass surgery (CABG), and angioplasty may help some people with heart failure.

The following devices may be recommended for certain patients with heart failure:

  • A pacemaker to help treat slow heart rates or other heart signaling problems
  • A biventricular pacemaker to help the both sides of your heart contract at the same time; it is also called cardiac resynchronization therapy.
  • An implantable cardioverter-defibrillator that recognizes life-threatening, abnormal heart rhythms and sends an electrical pulse to stop them.

Severe heart failure may require the following treatments when other therapies no longer work. They are often used when a person is waiting for a heart transplant:

  • Intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP)
  • Left ventricular assist device (LVAD)

Note: These devices can be life saving, but they are not permanent solutions. Patients who become dependent on circulatory support will need a heart transplant.


Support Groups


Expectations (prognosis)

Review Date: 06/22/2010
Reviewed By: Issam Mikati, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Director, Northwestern Clinic Echocardiography Lab, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)