Which statement best describes the treatment goals for heart failure?

Which statement best describes the treatment goals for heart failure?

• A. Treat symptoms with diuretics alone
• B. Treat the cause, improve oxygenation, decrease MVO2, preload, afterload, and increase contractility
• C. Increase preload and afterload
• D. Decrease contractility

Answer: (B)

In heart failure, treatment aims to relieve symptoms and optimize oxygen delivery by reducing the heart’s workload and supporting its pumping action. The best description of goals includes addressing the underlying cause, improving oxygenation, decreasing myocardial oxygen demand, and lowering both preload and afterload, with strategies to boost contractile function when needed. In practice, that means treating the trigger (such as ischemia or valvular issue), correcting hypoxemia, using diuretics and venodilators to reduce preload, employing therapies to reduce afterload (like afterload-reducing agents), and adding inotropes or other support to improve cardiac output if contractility is insufficient. Choosing diuretics alone misses addressing afterload and the cause, increasing preload or afterload would worsen heart failure, and decreasing contractility would reduce cardiac output rather than support perfusion.

In heart failure, treatment aims to relieve symptoms and optimize oxygen delivery by reducing the heart’s workload and supporting its pumping action. The best description of goals includes addressing the underlying cause, improving oxygenation, decreasing myocardial oxygen demand, and lowering both preload and afterload, with strategies to boost contractile function when needed. In practice, that means treating the trigger (such as ischemia or valvular issue), correcting hypoxemia, using diuretics and venodilators to reduce preload, employing therapies to reduce afterload (like afterload-reducing agents), and adding inotropes or other support to improve cardiac output if contractility is insufficient.

Choosing diuretics alone misses addressing afterload and the cause, increasing preload or afterload would worsen heart failure, and decreasing contractility would reduce cardiac output rather than support perfusion.