Prognosis and therapy approaches of cardiac cachexia

Title

Prognosis and therapy approaches of cardiac cachexia

Creator

Springer J; Filippatos G; Akashi YJ; Anker SD

Publisher

Current Opinion In Cardiology

Date

2006

Description

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This review focuses on the prognostic implications and therapeutic approaches in cardiac cachexia - a syndrome that has been recognized for a long time, although it has only received increased attention lately. RECENT FINDINGS: Cardiac cachexia is a common and serious complication of chronic heart failure and associated with very poor prognosis, yet is often recognized by the clinicians only at late stage. Approximately 15% of heart failure patients will develop cardiac cachexia, defined by a 6% non-edematous, non-voluntary weight loss over a period of 6 months. Several studies have demonstrated that cardiac cachexia is a multi-factorial disease, which involves increased neurohormonal activity and immune abnormalities, resulting in hormonal and metabolic catabolic/anabolic imbalance of the body, leading to the loss of fat and lean mass and ultimately death. So far, there are no standardized therapies available for this disease. SUMMARY: Cardiac cachexia in heart failure patients is under-recognized and there is currently no causal therapy available. Several interesting treatment options exist, however, which have emerged recently, including appetite stimulants, hormones and 'classical' drugs, such as beta-blockers and ACE inhibitors.

Rights

Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).

Type

Journal Article

Citation List Month

Backlog

Citation

Springer J; Filippatos G; Akashi YJ; Anker SD, “Prognosis and therapy approaches of cardiac cachexia,” Pediatric Palliative Care Library, accessed March 28, 2024, https://pedpalascnetlibrary.omeka.net/items/show/13515.