Risk stratification in patients with chronic heart failure based on metabolic-immunological, functional and haemodynamic parameters.

Background: A vast array of parameters has been proposed to predict mortality in chronic heart failure (CHF). Their applicability into clinical practice remains challenging due to economical and availability considerations.

Methods And Results: We studied serum uric acid, total cholesterol, and soluble tumour necrosis factor receptor 1 (sTNF-R1) in 114 CHF patients (63.

The impact of impaired renal function on mortality in patients with acutely decompensated chronic heart failure.

Aims: Acute heart failure syndromes, commonly recognized as de novo heart failure or acute decompensated chronic heart failure (ADHF), are characterized by a rapid onset or change in signs and symptoms of heart failure requiring urgent treatment. Coexisting renal dysfunction is associated with poor prognosis in these patients. We sought to determine whether renal impairment in particular and other admission factors in general predict long-term mortality after hospitalization for ADHF.

Septic cardiomyopathy - A not yet discovered cardiomyopathy?

Myocardial depression in human sepsis was only unequivocally proven in the 1980s by the group of Parrillo, who used nuclear imaging techniques to measure heart volumes and function in intensive care patients. Heart failure in sepsis is frequently masked by a seemingly normal cardiac output. However, relative to the lowered systemic vascular resistance - resulting in a reduced afterload - cardiac outputs and ventricular ejection fractions are often not adequately enhanced.