Acute Heart Failure Care – a Consensus Series of an International Experts' Group

The care of patients hospitalized for acute heart failure (AHF) has been largely unchanged from the early 1960s until a few years ago, consisting mainly of oxygen and diuretics supplemented sometimes by other vasoactive drugs. These treatments, although effective in the short term in controlling congestion, do not prevent early readmissions and death, occurring in over 30% of patients in the 6 months after an AHF hospitalization. In the last years, studies showed that AHF diagnosis can be improved, early diuretic care can be optimized, and early intensive therapy with combined drug regimens can reduce the rate of adverse outcomes. However, unlike acute coronary syndromes, where guidelines have existed since 1996, there are no separate detailed guidelines for AHF. In a series of four papers (International Expert Opinion Series on AHF Management) an international expert group highlights important aspects of AHF care where the evidence base to inform clinical practice is lacking. These papers focus on (1) diagnosis and treatment during prehospital and in the emergency department, (2) management during the first days of admission, (3) care before and after AHF discharge, and (4) hospitalized AHF management in patients presenting with cardiogenic shock, significant valvular disease, or end-stage renal disease. These papers are not intended to serve as guidelines, but rather to suggest a framework for future recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of AHF. In the current summary paper, we highlight the main considerations and key recommendations in each of the parts of AHF care.

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Publication Details

Journal
European Journal of Heart Failure
Published
2025-09-28
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/ejhf.70057
Primary Topic
Heart Failure Treatment and Management
Type
article
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article

Acute Heart Failure Care – a Consensus Series of an International Experts' Group

Mauro Riccardi, Siti E. Nauli, Gianluigi Savarese, Andrew P. Ambrosy et al.
European Journal of Heart Failure
Heart Failure Treatment and Management
article

Acute Heart Failure Care – a Consensus Series of an International Experts' Group

Mauro Riccardi, Siti E. Nauli, Gianluigi Savarese, Andrew P. Ambrosy, Beth A. Davison, Anastase Dzudié, Yonathan Freund, Karen S Sliwa, Sean P. Collins, Edimar Alcides Bocchi, Marat Fudim, Ovidiu Chioncel, Ivna G C V Lima, Gad Cotter, Robert John Mentz, Jan Biegus, Alexandre Mebazaa, Matteo Pagnesi, Yuhui Zhang, Jingmin Zhou, Naoki Sato, Sivadasanpillai Harikrishnan, Òscar Miró, Javed Butler
article en

Abstract

The care of patients hospitalized for acute heart failure (AHF) has been largely unchanged from the early 1960s until a few years ago, consisting mainly of oxygen and diuretics supplemented sometimes by other vasoactive drugs. These treatments, although effective in the short term in controlling congestion, do not prevent early readmissions and death, occurring in over 30% of patients in the 6 months after an AHF hospitalization. In the last years, studies showed that AHF diagnosis can be improved, early diuretic care can be optimized, and early intensive therapy with combined drug regimens can reduce the rate of adverse outcomes. However, unlike acute coronary syndromes, where guidelines have existed since 1996, there are no separate detailed guidelines for AHF. In a series of four papers (International Expert Opinion Series on AHF Management) an international expert group highlights important aspects of AHF care where the evidence base to inform clinical practice is lacking. These papers focus on (1) diagnosis and treatment during prehospital and in the emergency department, (2) management during the first days of admission, (3) care before and after AHF discharge, and (4) hospitalized AHF management in patients presenting with cardiogenic shock, significant valvular disease, or end-stage renal disease. These papers are not intended to serve as guidelines, but rather to suggest a framework for future recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of AHF. In the current summary paper, we highlight the main considerations and key recommendations in each of the parts of AHF care.

European Journal of Heart FailureVol. 27(12)
Université de Yaoundé I (CM), Kaiser Permanente (US), Inserm (FR), University of Cape Town (ZA), Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy (RO), Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College (CN), Université Paris Cité (FR), Fudan University (CN), Sree Chitra Thirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (IN), Education and Research Network (IN), Karolinska Institutet (SE), Kawaguchi Junior College (JP), University of Indonesia (ID), University of Mississippi (US), Wroclaw Medical University (PL), Sorbonne Université (FR), Clinical Research Institute (US), Sorbonne Paris Cité (FR), Stockholm South General Hospital (SE), Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris (FR), VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System (US), Surgical Specialties (Canada) (CA), Universitas Muhammadiyah Tangerang (ID), Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (US), Baylor Medical Center at Garland (US), Hospital Clínic de Barcelona (ES), Hôpital Lariboisière (FR), South African Heart Association (ZA), Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital (FR), Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Medical Center (US), Zhongshan Hospital (CN), Momentum Research (US), Noguchi Hospital (JP), Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo (BR), Women's Health Initiative (US), Duke University Hospital (US), Consorci Institut D'Investigacions Biomediques August Pi I Sunyer (ES), Fu Wai Hospital (CN), Istituti Ospitalieri di Cremona (IT), Universitat de Barcelona (ES), University of Brescia (IT), Vanderbilt University Medical Center (US)
Openalex Percentile: Top 59%
Heart Failure Treatment and Management
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