Author(s): Fonseca, Cândida ; Baptista, Rui ; Franco, Fátima ; Moura, Brenda ; Pimenta, Joana ; Moraes Sarmento, Pedro ; Cardoso, José Silva ; Brito, Dulce
Date: 2025
Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.5/102469
Origin: Repositório da Universidade de Lisboa
Subject(s): Chronic heart failure; Emerging treatment; Expert consensus; Guideline-directed medical therapy; Management; Vericiguat; Worsening heart failure
For most patients with chronic heart failure (HF), the clinical course of the disease includes periods of apparent clinical stability punctuated by episodes of clinical deterioration with worsening signs and symptoms, a condition referred to as worsening heart failure (WHF). Over time, episodes of WHF may become more frequent, and patients may enter a cycle of recurrent events associated with deterioration in their quality of life and functional capacity, hospitalizations, and ultimately death. WHF is apparently an old concept but seems to have acquired new boundaries in terms of definition and clinical and prognostic value due to the fast-paced evolution of the HF treatment landscape and the emergence of new drugs in this setting. As a result, the management of WHF is being reshaped. In the present paper, a group of HF experts gathered to discuss the concept, prevention, detection, and treatment of WHF.
