Heart failure (HF) societies around the world have agreed on the following new universal definition of HF: “a clinical syndrome with symptoms and/or signs caused by a structural and/or functional cardiac abnormality and corroborated by elevated natriuretic peptide levels and/or objective evidence of pulmonary or systemic congestion.” They have also proposed a revised … [Read more...] about Heart failure classification according to ejection fraction
Consensus reports & Position papers
Recommendations for treating athletes with cardiomyopathies
Cardiologists and others involved in athletes’ care need to know how the heart adapts to different sports. But they must also know how to treat and advise athletes with pre-existing cardiovascular conditions, who have an increased risk of fatal arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death during exercise. A new position statement written on behalf of the Sport Cardiology Section … [Read more...] about Recommendations for treating athletes with cardiomyopathies
Global consensus on CTO-PCI best practices
A chronic total occlusion (CTO) is the complete obstruction of a coronary artery, presenting a Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) 0 flow and an occlusion duration of at least 3 months. With the advancement of equipment, techniques and key indicators, the success rates of CTO percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) have greatly improved. During CTO-PCI meetings in … [Read more...] about Global consensus on CTO-PCI best practices
Treating iron deficiency in chronic heart failure patients
European Society of Cardiology guidelines regarding iron status, screening, diagnosis along with treatment in heart failure patients using ferric carboxymaltose are based on two randomized controlled trials. A recent review addresses the lack of clinical trials conducted to assess the clinical efficacy of the full range of intravenous iron products currently available, and … [Read more...] about Treating iron deficiency in chronic heart failure patients
Leaving behind left ventricular ejection fraction: heart failure classification using pathophysiological reasoning
The classification of heart failure predominantly relies on a single parameter, namely left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) – a measure of the left ventricle’s ability to contract. Until now, the clinical diagnosis and management of heart failure as well as basic physiological research have classified heart failure using LVEF cut-offs. The use of such cut-offs … [Read more...] about Leaving behind left ventricular ejection fraction: heart failure classification using pathophysiological reasoning