Acute Heart Failure. Putting the Puzzle of Pathophysiology and Evidence Together in Daily Practice

Description

• Evidence-based review of the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and therapy of acute heart failure syndromes
• Designed for easy use in everyday clinical practice, an introduction into the topic
• Designed to satisfy the need of Acute Medicine/the Heart Team concept
• Contains extensive references, allowing the reader to easily refer to the original experimental studies 

Acute heart failure is a potentially life threatening situation where correct, rapid therapy can save lives. Information from the latest research and studies has been used to update this text to bring the latest understanding of the pathophysiology together with a practical guide to diagnosis and management using an evidenced based approach.

Since the first edition of Acute Heart Failure, this research has brought to light three important issues to be integrated into a second edition. First, the so-called “vascular heart failure” has been identified as a common and decisive mechanism provoking acute heart failure due to thecoupling and interaction between the heart (right and left heart) and the large vessel systems (aorta and pulmonary artery). Second, the interaction and cross-talk between heart and kidneys, the so-called ‘cardiorenal syndrome’ has been identified as another feature of acute heartfailure syndromes. Third, we have new knowledge and updated points of views about the development of pulmonary hypertension in patients suffering from heart failure, the group 2 of the classification system of pulmonary hypertension. These are all covered in this second edition.

This revision to a seminal text is a valuable addition to any practitioner who treats patients with acute heart failure and wants a deeper understanding of the condition. 

Dr.  Wolfgang Kruger is a physician trained and specialized in general internal medicine, cardiology and intensive care medicine, with international certification. He has worked as a consultant intensivist and cardiologist throughout Europe, with special interests in acute heart failureand circulatory disorders of critically ill patients. Currently he is working as senior consultant at the Medical University Department of the Cantonal Hospital in Aarau, Switzerland, where he holds teaching responsibilities. His attempt to incorporate the newest research into everydayevidence-based medicine led him to write a textbook on this topic.