Surgical alternatives for patients with heart failure

Chronic heart failure is a progressive syndrome characterized by diffuse coronary artery disease (CAD) or left ventricular failure not amenable to acute interventions of myocardial revascularization. A spectrum of treatment options is available to such patients. Medical therapies consist largely of pharmacologic alternatives and are used in the early stages of heart failure to slow the processes of ventricular remodeling. Surgical interventions are used as adjunctive therapies in the later stages of heart failure. These procedures include coronary endarterectomy, high-risk surgical revascularization, automatic internal cardioverter-defibrillator insertion (Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting in Conjunction with Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator Trial), cardiac transplantation, and dynamic cardiomyoplasty. This article provides an overview of each of these surgical therapies. Indications for each procedure and patient selection criteria are outlined. A description of each surgical procedure is included. Guidelines for postoperative nursing care are provided, and postoperative complications are discussed.