On the 27–28 May 2018, the Heart Failure 2018 Congress of the European Society of Cardiology–Heart Failure Association convened in Vienna, Austria. As part of this lively Congress, experts from nine European countries delivered an insightful series of tutorials examining how to use levosimendan safely and effectively in acute and advanced heart failure, including in the context of renal dysfunction.
Those insights have now been distilled into print, with the European experts sharing their experience and views on the position of levosimendan in the management of acute and advanced heart failure in a review published in Cardiovascular Drugs and Therapy (Bouchez S et al. 2018). It seems fitting that we should conclude our monthly blog posts for 2018 with a brief summary of this excellent tour d’horizon from a group of notable and respected practitioners in this complex field.
A series of major points emerged from this review:
These are substantial attainments for any drug in these areas of heart failure therapy and they confirm levosimendan as a uniquely-configured resource for this field. Join us again in 2019 for the next chapters in the development of this remarkable agent.
Professor Gerhard Pölzl discusses the 2018 European Society of Cardiology annual meeting, which included the outcome of the VERDICT trial.
The HFA-ESC has issued a fresh position paper [Crespo-Leiro MG et al. Eur J Heart Fail. 2018 May 27. doi: 10.1002/ejhf.1236]. Here’s our first take on some highlights.
If we had a way to reduce the risk of life-threatening complications after cardiac surgery would we use it? Of course we would. It is for reason that this blog post highlights the recent work of Dr. Qiang and colleagues. See the details here.
Professor Cynthia M Dougherty and colleagues outline an array of options for the treatment of advanced heart failure (HF) that create – quite reasonably – the impression that we are in a golden age of therapeutic possibilities for this difficult condition.
There have been some recent achievements in the LEODOR trial including a new website to facilitate administration and communication and submission of a formal study protocol synopsis to the European Journal of Heart Failure.
Professor Gerhard Pölzl reports primary results from the LION-HEART study in the management of advanced heart failure where among secondary endpoints, patients treated with levosimendan experienced a reduction in the rate of HF-related hospitalisation compared with placebo.
Professor Gerhard Pölzl highlights Hospitalisation for the management of acute decompensation being a critical moment in the trajectory of heart failure (HF) and one that has gloomy prognostic implications for many patients.
Professor Gerhard Pölzl discusses the interplay between the acutely compromised heart and the kidneys and how the optimal treatment for individual cases is complex.
Professor Gerhard Pölzl highlights advanced heart failure and treatment options available for those patients that are critically vulnerable.
Professor Gerhard Pölzl discusses the European Society of Cardiology annual meeting 2017, where several sessions were held on the use of levosimendan in heart failure.
Professor Gerhard Pölzl highlights the LION-Heart and LAICA clinical trials.
Professor Gerhard Pölzl discusses heart failure as the leading cause of adult hospitalisation in the industrialised world and what can be done to reduce this burden.
Professor Gerhard Pölzl highlights the significance of the FIGHT, PERSIST and LEVOREP trials which investigate levosimendan as a treatment for heart failure.
Professor Gerhard Pölzl discusses the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology annual meeting, where several sessions were held on the use of levosimendan in heart failure.
Discussion on levosimendan therapy in the LION-HEART RCT and heart failure as a 'final-stage' condition.
Thoughts from the expert meeting organised by the Heart Failure Clinic, Attikon University Hospital, 2018.
At ESC-HF 2018 experts discussed how to use levosimendan safely and effectively in acute and advanced heart failure, including in the context of renal dysfunction.
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