Heart Failure is a syndrome rather than a specific diagnosis. It isthe final result of many diseases affecting the heart. Heart failureis usually viewed in terms of heart muscle disease, but othercauses of the syndrom...Heart Failure is a syndrome rather than a specific diagnosis. It isthe final result of many diseases affecting the heart. Heart failureis usually viewed in terms of heart muscle disease, but othercauses of the syndrome include valxaxlar heart disease and chronicarrhythmias. In industrialized societies, the most common cause ofheart failure is coronary artery disease. A substantial minority ofpatients have 'dilated cardiomyopathy', in which there is intrinsicheart muscle damage with normal coronary arteries. By definition,the cause of cardiomyopathy is unknown, and this diagnosisshould therefore eventually disappear once all the causes of heartmuscle dysfunction are identified. The range of causes of specificheart muscle disease is already wide (Figure 1).展开更多
文摘Heart Failure is a syndrome rather than a specific diagnosis. It isthe final result of many diseases affecting the heart. Heart failureis usually viewed in terms of heart muscle disease, but othercauses of the syndrome include valxaxlar heart disease and chronicarrhythmias. In industrialized societies, the most common cause ofheart failure is coronary artery disease. A substantial minority ofpatients have 'dilated cardiomyopathy', in which there is intrinsicheart muscle damage with normal coronary arteries. By definition,the cause of cardiomyopathy is unknown, and this diagnosisshould therefore eventually disappear once all the causes of heartmuscle dysfunction are identified. The range of causes of specificheart muscle disease is already wide (Figure 1).
