Abstracto

Research in acute decompensated heart failure: challenges and opportunities

Brian C Hiestand

Acute heart failure continues to increase in incidence and prevalence, with minimal improvement in mortality. We have access to vast amounts of patient information (both research databases and administrative/clinical records) from which to derive associations and generate hypotheses. However, despite solid groundwork, rationale hypotheses and firm preliminary studies, the heart failure literature has not witnessed substantial successes when it comes to clinical trials. This article discusses recent acute heart failure trials and advances suggestions as to why these trials have not been able to demonstrate significant differences. In the area of registry-based studies, the article discusses potentially useful data management techniques that ameliorate two of the common criticisms of retrospective studies – missing data and the correlation versus causation conundrum.