Hyperkalemia

Congestive Heart Failure (CHF)

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)

End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD)

Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone (RAAS)

Congestive heart failure (CHF) occurs when the heart's pumping action can no longer pump enough blood to the muscles, tissues, and other organs and causes a buildup of fluid called congestion in the lungs and other body tissues.

Disease progression is generally assessed according to the New York Heart Association Functional Classification. This score documents severity of symptoms, and can be used to assess response to treatment.

CHF therapy is complex. Often patients have several underlying conditions and co-morbidities, such as diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, hypertension, chronic kidney disease and/or coronary artery disease. The therapy needs to be individualized for each patient's situation. Several medical therapies (ACE inhibitors, ARBs, aldosterone antagonists) have documented mortality advantages in CHF patients. Combinations and higher doses of these drugs as they are frequently used in treatment of CHF and CKD may lead to higher incidences of hyperkalemia.

In the US over 5 million patients have CHF and more than 500,000 cases are newly diagnosed each year.

AHA treatment guideline

Heart Failure Online

CHF video by Health Discovery

CinicalTrials.gov

PubMed (search for medical articles)