This Article Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 0885066609344941v1 24/6/347    most recent References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Chatterjee, K. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Chatterjee, K. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Analytic Review: Hyponatremia in Heart Failure

University of California, San Francisco, California, chatterj{at}medicine.ucsf.edu

Hyponatremia is one of the newer and emerging risk factors for an adverse prognosis in chronic heart failure. Why decreased serum sodium is associated with worse prognosis remains unclear. It may reflect worsening heart failure and the deleterious effects of activation of neurohormones. The mechanism of hyponatremia in heart failure also remains unclear. A relatively greater degree of free-water retention compared to sodium retention is probably the major mechanism. The treatment of significant hyponatremia in heart failure is difficult. The conventional treatments such as fluid restriction, infusion of hypertonic saline, and aggressive diuretic therapies are not usually effective. Vasopressin receptor antagonists have been shown to enhance aquaresis and correct hyponatremia. However, long-term beneficial effects of such treatments in chronic heart failure have not been documented.

Key Words: hyponatremia • chronic heart failure • vasopressin receptor antagonists

This version was published on November 1, 2009

Journal of Intensive Care Medicine, Vol. 24, No. 6, 347-351 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0885066609344941


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?