Heart failure in the elderly

Heart failure is a progressive and often fatal disorder. The prevalence and incidence of heart failure increase continuously with advancing age. Heart failure imposes an enormous burden on society and healthcare systems as well as on the affected patient and their family. Despite recent major advanc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAging Health Vol. 4; no. 2; pp. 137 - 155
Main Authors Dieterle, Thomas, Pfisterer, Matthias, Brunner-La Rocca, Hanspeter
Format Journal Article Book Review
LanguageEnglish
Published London Future Medicine Ltd 01.04.2008
Subjects
Aging
Cardiovascular disease
elderly
Epidemiology
heart failure
nonpharmacological therapy
Palliative care
pharmacological therapy
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Summary:Heart failure is a progressive and often fatal disorder. The prevalence and incidence of heart failure increase continuously with advancing age. Heart failure imposes an enormous burden on society and healthcare systems as well as on the affected patient and their family. Despite recent major advancements in the pharmacological therapy of heart failure, prognosis remains poor with high morbidity and mortality. With a further aging population, an epidemic-like increase in the number of patients with heart failure is expected, making a holistic approach and the stringent use of currently available diagnostic and therapeutic modalities indispensable. This article summarizes current approaches to the diagnosis as well as to the pharmacological and nonpharmacological therapy of heart failure in the elderly patient.
ISSN:1745-509X
1745-5103
DOI:10.2217/1745509X.4.2.137