Monica Băluță*, V. Vintilă**, M. Vintilă***
*Dr. Monica Băluță, asistent universitar, medic specialist medicină internă – Catedra de Medicină Internă, Spitalul Colentina, Secția Cardiologie
**Dr. Vlad Vintilă, medic stagiar, Spitalul Universitar de Urgență București
***Conf. dr. Marius Vintilă, Catedra de medicină internă, șeful Secției Cardiologie, Spitalul Colentina
Abstract
Management of Heart Failure in Valvular Heart Disease
Heart failure (HF) is the final common pathway of many heart diseases. HF is defined as a condition in which the heart cannot pump an adequate supply of blood at normal filling pressures to assure the metabolic needs of the body. It is a complex clinical syndrome characterized by abnormalities of ventricular function and neurohormonal regulation, which are accompanied by effort intolerance, fluid retention, and reduced longevity. The circulatory compromise might be due to many reasons, such as abnormalities of the heart valves. Appropriate management is largely based on the clinical picture; many physicians treat asymptomatic patients conservatively, whereas corrective surgery is generally brecommended in patients with symptoms. The doctor must do everything possible to prevent progression of heart disease to the point where the cardiac reserve and compensatory mechanisms are exhausted and the syndrome of overt congestive heart failure supervenes. For the inoperable patients with comorbid conditions or for the patients who refuse corrective surgery, limited medical therapies are available to control symptoms.