Heart Failure [antikvár]

Foreword During the past few decades, significant progress has been made in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease in the United States. Despite these advances, national statistics indicate that the incidence and prevalence of chronic heart failure have been increasing in recent years. In fact, heart failure is the only category of cardiovascular disease in which the prevalence, incidence, and mortality have increased steadily in the past 25 years. These worrisome trends are paralleled by steady increases in the hospitalization rates and health care costs related to heart failure. The heart failure epidemic is fueled by several factors. Heart failure is age related, with a prevalence of 1 % between the ages of 50 and 59. This rate increases to roughly 10% above the age of 75. With the aging of the population, a greater number of patients with chronic heart failure will undoubtedly occur. Additionally, improvement in the treatment of acute myocardial infarction translates into more patients surviving with left-ventricular dysfunction, which translates into more patients developing clinical heart failure over the course of subsequent decades. Finally, better management of heart failure itself, with the potential for improved survival through advances in medical therapy and implantable devices, could result in the paradoxical situation in which enhanced survival might be achieved at the expense of more patients alive with heart failure symptoms. The combination of an aging population and decline in mortality from other forms of cardiovascular diseases indicates that heart failure will continue to increase in public health importance. Hence, more and more patients will be diagnosed, treated, and followed in the primary outpatient setting. Heart Failure: A Clinician's Guide to Ambulatory Diagnosis and Treatment, edited by Drs. Jessup and Loh, provides an in-depth, hands-on approach to the office-based evaluation and management of the patient with heart failure. Extensive coverage is provided regarding the presenting signs and symptoms of heart failure, as well as the tools with which to evaluate left-ventricular function, hemodynamics, and exercise performance. The chapters on treatment recommendations are up-to-date and evidence-based, consistent with current peer-reviewed practice guidelines. Appropriate attention is placed on treatment options for the patient with advanced heart failure, including alternative therapies, emerging therapeutic alternatives, and surgical approaches and devices. A highly commendable feature of the book is the considerable