ABSTRACT
Heart failure is a clinical syndrome in which impaired cardiac pumping decreases ejection and impedes venous return (Mann et al. 1992). Depressed myocardial contractility and relaxation generally further complicate these hemodynamic abnormalities. • The term ‘heart failure’ encompasses a whole spectrum of disorders from acute failure
(shock states) to congestive heart failure (CHF). • In many patients, a recognizable pathological condition initiates heart failure, e.g. with
myocardial disease, such as cardiomyopathy, infarction or fibrosis, impaired contractility and decreased cardiac output result in dysfunction.
