Acute decompensated heart failure: pathophysiology and treatment.

Acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) is an important milestone in the clinical course of heart failure (HF). It is an event associated with a significant deterioration in the prognosis of HF. Despite the progress that has been made in the development of new pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic therapy for HF, there is surprisingly limited advancement in the treatment of acute HF. There are currently no guidelines for the treatment of ADHF. This is a review of the current diagnostic evaluation and treatment of patients with ADHF.