Raising the bar: setting a new standard for invasive hemodynamics in heart failure

The introduction of the Swan Ganz pulmonary artery catheter (PAC) in the 1970s revolutionized the management of heart failure. Invasive hemodynamics with a PAC established that the physiology of the failing heart was not simply a state of impaired contractility but also of high systemic vascular resistance ushering in a new era of vasodilator therapeutics for heart failure.1 In the early 2000 ’s the routine use of invasive hemodynamics to guide the optimization of patients of acute heart failure was discouraged by the ESCAPE trial, and together with other observational studies suggesting possible harm, led to a dramatic decline in the clinical use of PACs.
Source: Journal of Cardiac Failure - Category: Cardiology Authors: Tags: Editorial Comment Source Type: research