September 3, 1992
View Full PaperThe Prevention of Heart Failure — A New Agenda
Key Result
This editorial discusses the shift toward preventive strategies for heart failure and introduces three different approaches described in the current issue of the Journal.
Structured PICO
P
Population
Patients with or at risk of chronic congestive heart failure
I
Intervention
Preventive strategies for heart failure
This editorial highlights a paradigm shift towards preventive strategies for heart failure, introducing three different approaches discussed in the journal issue.
Abstract
Chronic congestive heart failure is often a lethal disease. Even though clinical trials have documented improved survival when enalapril1 2 3 or hydralazine plus isosorbide dinitrate3 , 4 was added to digoxin and diuretic therapy, more than 40 percent of the patients in such trials died in the first four years after enrollment. The emphasis has therefore begun to shift toward preventive strategies that are based on physiologic data supporting the idea that cardiac dysfunction and symptoms progress independently from the underlying myocardial disease.5 The results of three different approaches to the prevention of heart failure are described in this issue of the Journal . . .