Summary:
College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association decided to take a new approach to the classification of
heart failure that emphasizes both the evolution and the progression of the disease, using potential risk factors and
structural disorders as criteria to identify the severity of a heart failure syndrome. Similarly, an ACC/AHA Clinical
Competence Statement on electrocardiography and ambulatory electrocardiography was published with a special
emphasis on the computer interpretation of the electrocardiogram. Since various drugs were shown to induce
electrocardiographic abnormalities as e.g. QT prolongation associated with ventricular tachycardias, the FDA
decided to introduce higher regulatory requirements on the cardiac safety of novel drugs. In cardiovascular surgery
Octopus off-pump bypass was demonstrated to be a safe procedure for carefully selected patients with multivessel
coronary heart disease. Because of the extensive progress made in cardiovascular surgery, the management of severe
heart failure has to be improved and early effective preventive measures have to be introduced to reduce the risk of
intractable heart failure. The „New guidelines for evaluating acute coronary syndrome“ stress the importance of
early identifying and early treatment, including invasive strategy as PTCA with stenting.
Key words:
heart failure guidelines 2001, electrocardiography competence Statement, QT interval
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