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Published on: February 28, 2012
Antithrombotic Treatment in Cardiomyopathies
Georgia Vogiatzi1, Antonios Pantazis2, Dimitris Tousoulis1
1First Department of Cardiology, 'Hippokration' Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Medical School, Athens, Greece.
Insights
Cardiomyopathies, a cause of heart failure, have unclear antithrombotic therapy benefits for preventing blood clots. More research is needed to determine the risk-benefit ratio for these patients.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Thrombosis Research
Background:
- Cardiomyopathies are a diverse group of heart muscle diseases leading to heart failure.
- Existing evidence on heart failure in cardiomyopathies is growing, but therapeutic strategies require clarification.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review epidemiologic, pathophysiologic, clinical, and therapeutic data on thromboembolism prevention in heart failure due to cardiomyopathies.
- To address the lack of consensus regarding antithrombotic therapy in cardiomyopathies without primary valvular disease or atrial fibrillation.
Main Methods:
- This is a review article.
- It synthesizes existing data on thromboembolism in cardiomyopathies.
Main Results:
- Observational data suggest an increased venous thromboembolic risk in cardiomyopathies.
- The precise role and risk:benefit ratio of antithrombotic therapy remain unclear in this patient population.
Conclusions:
- Antithrombotic therapy's efficacy in preventing thromboembolic events in cardiomyopathies without atrial fibrillation or valvular disease is not established.
- Further investigation is warranted to guide therapeutic decisions for thromboembolism prevention in heart failure patients with cardiomyopathies.
Abstract:
Cardiomyopathies are a heterogeneous group of heart muscle diseases and important cause of heart failure with reduced or preserved ejection fraction. Although there is an increasing body of evidence on the incidence, pathophysiology, and natural history of heart failure (HF) in cardiomyopathies, certain aspects of the therapeutic strategies remain unclear. More particularly, there is no consensus if to whether antithrombotic therapy has a favorable risk: benefit ratio in reducing thromboembolic event rate in patients with cardiomyopathies without suffering from primary valvular disease or atrial fibrillation. Although the observational data on increased venous thromboembolic risk are supported by multiple pathophysiological mechanisms, the role of antithrombotic therapy in these patients remains unclear. This review article provides an overview of epidemiologic, pathophysiologic, clinical, and therapeutic data for the prevention of thromboembolism in heart failure due to cardiomyopathies.
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