Medication
Five types of drugs were considered as the agents of choice in the treatment of chronic heart failure: angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, β-adrenoceptor antagonists (blockers), potassium sparing diuretic (spironolactone), cardiac glycosides, and diuretics other than the potassium-sparing class.
Procedures
In heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), fewer drugs have been adequately studied. However, ACE inhibitors, ARBs, and beta-blockers are generally used to treat HFpEF. ARNIs are currently being studied.
Nutrition
View an animation of heart failure . Your treatment plan may include: Regardless of your treatment approach, you should follow all of your doctor’s recommendations and make the necessary changes in diet, exercise and lifestyle to give you the highest possible quality of life.
What is the drug of choice for heart failure?
Successful treatment depends on your willingness to get involved in managing the condition. You, your loved ones and your caregivers all play an active role as part of the healthcare team. View an animation of heart failure . Your treatment plan may include:
What drugs are used in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF)?
What is the treatment plan for heart failure?
Who is involved in the treatment of heart failure?
What is the drug of choice for heart failure?
There are many different types of diuretic, but the most widely used for heart failure are furosemide (also called frusemide) and bumetanide. Possible side effects of diuretics include dehydration and reduced levels of sodium and potassium in the blood.
What is the first drug of choice for heart failure?
Digoxin has been the traditional first drug of choice for CHF, but with protracted controversy about its efficacy and safety. It is hope that new agents as vesnarione, and ibopamine may improve contractility without having adverse consequences.
Which drugs are first-line therapy for chronic heart failure?
ACE inhibitors and angiotensin receptor antagonists ACE inhibitors are first-line therapy in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction and asymptomatic left-ventricular dysfunction.
What's the best treatment for congestive heart failure?
ACE inhibitors or ARB drugs improve heart function and life expectancy. Digitalis glycosides strengthen the heart's contractions. Anticoagulants or antiplatelets such as aspirin help prevent blood clots. Beta-blockers improve heart function and chances of living longer.
What is the best treatment for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction?
In heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), fewer drugs have been adequately studied. However, ACE inhibitors, ARBs, or aldosterone antagonists (mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists) are generally used to treat HFpEF. ARNIs may reduce hospitalizations for heart failure but do not improve other outcomes.
What is an ARNI?
Angiotensin receptor/neprilysin inhibitor (ARNI) ARNIs are a new combination drug for the treatment of heart failure. They include an ARB and a newer class of drug, neprilysin inhibitors (eg, sacubitril ).
Can aldosterone be used to reduce mortality?
Aldosterone antagonists can reduce mortality, including from sudden death, in patients with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) < 30% and chronic HF, or acute HF complicating acute myocardial infarction . Potassium supplements should be stopped.
Can aldosterone be produced independently of renin?
Because aldosterone can be produced independently of the renin-angiotensin system, its adverse effects are not inhibited completely even by maximal use of ACE inhibitors and ARBs. Thus, the aldosterone antagonists (also termed mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists) are often used, particularly for patients with moderate to severe symptoms or signs of heart failure.
Do beta blockers help with HFPEF?
In patients with HFpEF, beta-blockers have not shown clear benefits in clinical trials. However, data from large registries have suggested that beta-blocker use is associated with improved outcomes in HFpEF despite the relatively high prevalence of chronotropic incompetence in HFpEF.
Does spironolactone reduce heart failure?
In patients with HFpEF, spironolactone reduces hospitalization for heart failure and likely reduces cardiovascular mortality ( 1 ). Thus, aldosterone antagonists should be used in patients with HFpEF, particularly if they are volume overloaded and/or have a history of HF hospitalization.
Does dapagliflozin reduce mortality?
Addition of a sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitor , dapagliflozin, has been shown to reduce morbidity and mortality when added to standard care in patients with elevated natriuretic peptide levels; benefit was similar in patients with and without diabetes .
What is clinical trial?
Clinical trials. Clinical trials are scientific studies that determine if a possible new medical advance can help people and whether it has harmful side effects. Find answers to common questions about clinical trials in our Guide to Understanding Clinical Trials.
Can heart failure be cured?
Heart failure caused by damage to the heart that has developed over time can’t be cured. But it can be treated, quite often with strategies to improve symptoms. Successful treatment depends on your willingness to get involved in managing the condition.
What are the three medications used for heart failure?
The medications used to treat heart failure include three groups of drugs: diuretics, ACE inhibitors, and beta-blockers. The type of medication your doctor will recommend depends on the type of heart failure you have and how severe your symptoms are.
How to prevent heart failure?
Prevention. The first step toward avoiding heart failure is to make lifestyle changes: stop smoking, limit how much alcohol you drink, lose excess weight, exercise regularly, and eat a heart-healthy diet.
What tests are used to diagnose heart failure?
Your doctor also may use an echocardiography or get an ultrasound image of your heart, a chest X-ray, or other tests.
What are the symptoms of heart failure?
The most common symptoms of heart failure include fatigue, shortness of breath, wheezing, frequent coughing, and swollen ankles and neck veins (See Table 1). All of these are due to excess fluid buildup in the body.
Why are obese people at greater risk of heart failure?
People who are obese face a greater risk of heart failure because the extra weight they carry strains the heart. Also, being overweight increases the risk of other conditions, such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes, that can lead to heart failure.
Why are older people at higher risk for heart disease?
Chemotherapy. Older people are at an increased risk because the causes of heart failure —especially heart disease—are more common in the elderly. African Americans are more likely to have heart failure than people of other races. They are nearly twice as likely as Caucasians to develop the disease.
What is heart failure?
At a glance. Heart failure is a chronic disease where the heart weakens and loses some of its ability to pump blood. It occurs as a result of high blood pressure, having a heart attack, or from other conditions that affect the heart. Heart failure is underdiagnosed and undertreated, especially in its early stages.
What Medications Are Used for Heart Failure?
Prescription medications are the most effective treatments for the management of heart failure. These medications often have to be adjusted periodically as the disease progresses.
Lifestyle Changes
If you have heart failure, lifestyle adjustments are an absolute necessity for managing your condition. While these changes cannot cure heart failure, they can help improve your quality of life. Not following these lifestyle recommendations is associated with worsening of the symptoms of heart failure and progression of the disease itself.
Over-the-Counter (OTC) Therapies
Over-the-counter medications are not normally beneficial in heart failure. In fact, a number of them can cause heart failure to worsen. 14 Some can also interfere with prescription heart failure medications, preventing them from working as they should.
Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)
Some complementary and alternative medicine therapies have been proven to show benefit in the management of heart failure. These approaches do not cure or improve the condition, and they have not been proven to prolong life. However, they may improve symptoms and help in preventing the worsening of heart failure.
Procedures
Surgery or other procedures do not cure heart failure itself. They can, however, improve heart function, regulate an irregular heart rhythm, or repair a heart valve abnormality, which may be appropriate and beneficial in some—though not all—people with this condition.
Summary
Although there is no cure for heart disease, survival and quality of life can be improved with medical treatment, lifestyle modification, and, sometimes, with specialized surgical procedures.
A Word From Verywell
Heart failure is a complex disease that requires a personalized approach. Taking prescription medications to improve your symptoms and help your heart pump more efficiently is just one part of a thorough treatment plan.
