Abstract
Treatment for chronic heart failure (CHF) is strongly focused on evidence-based medicine. However, large trials are often far away from the “real world” of geriatric patients and their messages are poorly transferable to the clinical management of CHF elderly patients. Precipitating factors and especially non-cardiac comorbidity may decompensate CHF in the elderly. More importantly, drugs of first choice, such as angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and β-blockers, are still underused and effective drugs on diastolic dysfunction are not available. Poor adherence to therapy, especially for cognitive and depression disorders, worsens the management. Electrical therapy is indicated, but attention to the older age groups with reduced life expectancy has to be paid. Physical exercise, stem cells, gene delivery, and new devices are encouraging, but definitive results are still not available. Palliative care plays a key role to the end-stage of the disease. Follow-up of CHF elderly patient is very important but tele-medicine is the future. Finally, self-care management, caregiver training, and multidimensional team represent the critical point of the treatment for CHF elderly patients.
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Abbreviations
- CHF:
-
Chronic heart failure
- CHF-PEF:
-
Chronic heart failure with preserved ejection fraction
- CHF-REF:
-
Chronic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction
- ACC:
-
American college of cardiology
- AHA:
-
America heart association
- EHFS:
-
Euro heart failure survey
- ACE-I:
-
Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors
- ARBs:
-
Angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs)
- CAD:
-
Coronary artery disease
- NHANES:
-
National health and nutrition examination survey
- SOLVD:
-
Studies of left ventricular dysfunction
- BMI:
-
Body mass index
- NYHA:
-
New York heart association
- ESC:
-
European society of cardiology
- CHARM:
-
Candesartan in heart failure: Assessment of reduction in mortality and morbidity
- PEP-CHF:
-
Perindopril in elderly people with chronic heart failure
- I-PRESERVE:
-
Irbesartan in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction
- ELITE II:
-
Evaluation of Losartan in the elderly II
- Val-HeFT:
-
Valsartan heart failure trial
- CIBIS II:
-
Cardiac insufficiency bisoprolol study II
- COPERNICUS:
-
Carvedilol prospective randomized cumulative survival
- MERIT-HF:
-
Metoprolol CR/XL randomized intervention trial in heart failure
- SENIORS:
-
Study of the effects of nebivolol intervention on outcomes and rehospitalization in seniors with heart failure
- DIG:
-
Digitalis investigation group
- RALES:
-
Randomized aldactone evaluation study
- EPHESUS:
-
Eplerenone post-AMI heart failure efficacy and survival stud
- SHIFT:
-
Systolic heart failure treatment with the if inhibitor ivabradine trial
- V-HeFT II:
-
Veterans administration cooperative vasodilator—heart failure II
- CRT-P:
-
Cardiac resynchronization therapy—pacemaker
- CRT-D:
-
Cardiac resynchronization therapy—defibrillator
- ICD:
-
Implantable cardioverter defibrillator
- HF-ACTION:
-
Heart failure—controlled trial investigating outcomes of exercise training
- VAD:
-
Ventricular assist device
- CABG:
-
Coronary artery bypass grafting
- SR:
-
Sarcoplasmic reticulum
- SERCA:
-
Sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-ATPase
- AAV:
-
Adeno-associated virus
- CUPID:
-
Calcium upregulation by percutaneous administration of gene therapy in cardiac disease (CUPID)
- βARK1:
-
β-adrenergic receptor kinase-1
- GRK2:
-
G protein-coupled receptor kinase 2
- PAIN-HF:
-
Pain assessment, incidence, and nature in heart failure
- NSAID:
-
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
- WHARF:
-
Weight monitoring in HeARt failure
- RPM:
-
Remote patients monitoring
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Drs. Pasquale Abete, Gianluca Testa, David Della-Morte, Gaetano Gargiulo, Gianluigi Galizia, Domenico de Santis, Antonio Magliocca, Claudia Basile, and Francesco Cacciatore have no conflicts of interest or financial ties to disclose.
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Abete, P., Testa, G., Della-Morte, D. et al. Treatment for chronic heart failure in the elderly: current practice and problems. Heart Fail Rev 18, 529–551 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10741-012-9363-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10741-012-9363-6