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Diuretics are used for symptomatic treatment of chronic heart failure; however, no randomized trials have yet assessed the long-term effects of these agents on morbidity and mortality. In this article, Vaz Pérez and colleagues question the assumption that long-term diuretic therapy is beneficial and opine that the currently available data do not support the routine use of diuretics as a cornerstone of long-term medical treatment for patients with chronic heart failure.
Here, Mark Awad, Hugh Calkins and Daniel Judge tackle the known genetic mutations associated with arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia/cardiomyopathy, and examine the complex issues surrounding genetic analysis in the clinical assessment of individuals with this condition.
The development of aortic regurgitation is often insidious and rate of disease progression varies between individuals. As such, symptoms do not necessarily correlate with objective evidence of ventricular dysfunction and the most appropriate criteria for risk stratification and optimum medical therapy remain controversial. Here the epidemiology of AR and evolution of practice guidelines regarding diagnosis and treatment are examined.
Atherosclerosis can remain below the clinical horizon for a long time. Acute vascular disease, however, can manifest clinically at almost any stage. Brightness ultrasonographic imaging of the carotid arterial walls can depict all stages of atherosclerotic arterial wall changes as a continuous variable. Here de Grootet al. describe the role of carotid IMT measurements as a tool in risk evaluation of individuals and explore how this technique could advance atherosclerosis research.
Premature ventricular complexes are a common form of arrhythmia and are typically considered to be benign. In this month's Case Study, however, Ezzat and colleagues present a patient with dilated cardiomyopathy which was postulated to be caused by premature ventricular complexes arising from the right ventricular outflow tract. She was successfully treated by electrophysiological mapping and cryoablation of the ectopic focus.
