Progress in cardiovascular diseases
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Prog Cardiovasc Dis · Jan 2013
ReviewSyncope risk assessment in the emergency department and clinic.
The initial assessment of patients who present with presumed syncope is challenging. Syncope has many possible causes ranging from relatively benign to potentially life-threatening, and sorting through the possibilities may not be feasible given time limitations in an urgent care setting. Therefore, the physician almost always must determine whether the affected individual needs in-hospital evaluation or can be safely referred to an outpatient syncope evaluation clinic. ⋯ In those cases in which the diagnosis is uncertain, risk stratification schemes such as those summarized in this communication become more essential. However, at present no single risk assessment protocol appears to be satisfactory for universal application. The development of a consensus recommendation is an essential next step.
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Prog Cardiovasc Dis · Nov 2012
ReviewDeactivation of pacemakers and implantable cardioverter-defibrillators.
Cardiac implantable electrical devices (CIEDs), including pacemakers (PMs) and implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs), are the most effective treatment for life-threatening arrhythmias. Patients or their surrogates may request device deactivation to avoid prolongation of the dying process or in other settings, such as after device-related complications or with changes in health care goals. ⋯ This review outlines the ethical and legal principles supporting CIED deactivation, centered upon patient autonomy and authority over their own medical treatment. The empirical literature describing stakeholder views and experiences surrounding CIED deactivation is described, along with implications of these studies for future research surrounding the care of patients with CIEDs.
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The success of modern therapies in congenital heart disease has produced a large and growing population of adults with congenital heart disease as a chronic condition. Such success increasingly raises a host of ethical issues, from resource utilization to end of life decision-making. ⋯ This paper is based on a conference entitled "Ethical and Policy Challenges in Pediatric and Adult Congenital Heart Disease" held in March of 2012. Herein, we present a compilation of the ethics priorities in ACHD discussed at the conference, including ethical aspects of clinical care, ethics research and policy development in the areas of providing clinical care for challenging ACHD patients, improving transitions from pediatric to adult healthcare systems, advance care planning, and addressing costs.
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We discuss ethical issues of organ transplantation including the stewardship tension between physicians' duty to do everything possible for their patients and their duty to serve society by encouraging organ donation. We emphasize consideration of the role of the principles of justice, utility and equity in the just distribution of transplantable organ as scarce resources. ⋯ We need uniformity in standards of death determination, agreement on the duration of asystole before death is declared, and consensus on the allowable circulatory interventions on the newly declared organ donor that are intended to improve organ function. We discuss the importance of maintaining the dead donor rule, despite the argument of some scholars to abandon it.
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Prog Cardiovasc Dis · Sep 2012
ReviewPulmonary hypertension and right ventricular dysfunction in left heart disease (group 2 pulmonary hypertension).
Group 2 pulmonary hypertension is most frequently caused by left heart disease, a heterogeneous set of disorders. These processes include left ventricular systolic dysfunction, left ventricular dysfunction with preserved ejection fraction and valvular (mitral and/or aortic) diseases. Left heart disease may cause passive backward transmission of pressure leading to elevated left atrial and pulmonary arterial pressures due to a myriad of processes. ⋯ This is believed to be due to increases in vasomotor tone and/or vascular remodeling. Over time patients may go on to develop progressive right ventricular dysfunction, a marker for poor prognosis. This review will explore the different characteristics of these conditions including the incidence, pathophysiology, clinical implications, prognosis and current state of available medical therapies.