European journal of heart failure
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Eur. J. Heart Fail. · Apr 2010
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyIntravenous levosimendan vs. dobutamine in acute decompensated heart failure patients on beta-blockers.
The aim of this study is to compare the effects of a 24 h intravenous infusion of levosimendan and a 48 h infusion of dobutamine on invasive haemodynamics in patients with acutely decompensated chronic NYHA class III-IV heart failure. All patients were receiving optimal oral therapy including a beta-blocker. ⋯ A 24 h levosimendan infusion achieved haemodynamic and neurohormonal improvement that was at least comparable at 24 h and superior at 48 h to a 48 h dobutamine infusion.
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Eur. J. Heart Fail. · Dec 2009
Randomized Controlled TrialEffect of simvastatin vs. rosuvastatin on adiponectin and haemoglobin A1c levels in patients with non-ischaemic chronic heart failure.
To compare the effects of lipophilic simvastatin and hydrophilic rosuvastatin on plasma adiponectin and glycated haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels in patients with non-ischaemic chronic heart failure (NICHF). ⋯ These findings suggest that hydrophilic rosuvastatin but not lipophilic simvastatin increases adiponectin and decreases HbA1c levels in patients with NICHF.
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Eur. J. Heart Fail. · Dec 2009
Randomized Controlled Trial'Hospital at home' care model as an effective alternative in the management of decompensated chronic heart failure.
The 'Hospital at home' (HaH) model avoids hospital admission by transferring healthcare and treatment to the patient's home. We aimed to compare the effectiveness and direct healthcare costs of treating elderly patients with decompensated heart failure (HF) using HaH care vs. inpatient hospital care (IHC) in a cardiology unit. ⋯ Hospital at home care allows an important reduction in the costs during the index episode compared with hospital care, whilst maintaining similar outcomes with respect to cardiovascular mortality and morbidity and quality of life at 1 year follow-up.
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Eur. J. Heart Fail. · Nov 2009
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyTiming of eplerenone initiation and outcomes in patients with heart failure after acute myocardial infarction complicated by left ventricular systolic dysfunction: insights from the EPHESUS trial.
To test the hypothesis that an earlier post-acute myocardial infarction (AMI) eplerenone initiation in patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) and heart failure (HF) is associated with better long-term outcomes. ⋯ An earlier eplerenone administration (3-7days) post-AMI improved outcomes in patients with LVSD and HF. This benefit was not observed when eplerenone was initiated later (> or =7days).
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Eur. J. Heart Fail. · Nov 2009
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyRationale and design of Ferinject assessment in patients with IRon deficiency and chronic Heart Failure (FAIR-HF) study: a randomized, placebo-controlled study of intravenous iron supplementation in patients with and without anaemia.
Iron deficiency (ID) and anaemia are common in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). The presence of anaemia is associated with increased morbidity and mortality in CHF, and ID is a major reason for the development of anaemia. Preliminary studies using intravenous (i.v.) iron supplementation alone in patients with CHF and ID have shown improvements in symptom status. FAIR-HF (Clinical Trials.gov NCT00520780) was designed to determine the effect of i.v. iron repletion therapy using ferric carboxymaltose on self-reported patient global assessment (PGA) and New York Heart Association (NYHA) in patients with CHF and ID. ⋯ This study will provide evidence on the efficacy and safety of iron repletion with ferric carboxymaltose in CHF patients with ID with and without anaemia.