Heart Failure (PDF)

Now there is an up-to-date guide for optimizing pharmacologic
therapy in treating patients with heart failure. Reflecting current
practice at leading medical centers, Heart Failure:
Pharmacologic Management provides both the biologic and
pathologic underpinnings of each pharmacologic agent in current
use. It also supplies detailed discussions of the clinical
investigations that support current understanding of the risks and
benefits associated with the use of these drugs. Thorough
references make the book useful to the novice as well as the
experienced clinician.

Initial chapters focus on agents that are considered
standard care:

* * diuretics

* ACE inhibitors

* angiotensin receptor antagonists

* aldosterone antagonists

* beta-blockers

The discussion moves to agents currently under
investigation:

* * Vasopressin antagonists

* erythropoietin

Next, the authors consider some controversial drugs:

* * inotropic agents

* antiarrhythmic drugs

* anticoagulants

An insightful examination of pharmacogenetics
considers:

* * how studies of the genetic profile of patients helps determine
which patient populations are most likely to respond to a given
class of drugs

* the potential use of pharmacogenetics to tailor a pharmacologic
regimen for maximum benefit and minimum risk

Multidrug pharmacy for heart failure therapy

An extremely helpful concluding chapter provides a roadmap of
drugs with which to approach the patient with heart failure, along
with an overview of the skills you need to use it most effectively.
This straightforward, step-by-step algorithm will save you
countless hours of research and help you make your prescribing
decisions with confidence.