Improvement but no cure of left ventricular systolic dysfunction in treated heart failure patients

Background Recent advances in pharmacological and pacemaker-based treatments for heart failure (HF) have brought about significant improvements in left ventricular function. Aims To identify the proportion of treated systolic HF patients in whom left ventricular systolic function improves and/or returns to normal. Methods This was a retrospective analysis of 221 HF patients. Improvement in left ventricular function was defined as an improvement in ejection fraction (LVEF) of ≥10% on echocardiography. Return to normal was defined as an improvement of LVEF to ≥50% and a reduction in left ventricular end diastolic diameter to ≤55 mm. Changes in BNP were also recorded. Results Improvement in LVEF was observed in 44.3% of patients and return to normal systolic function in 10.9%, only 2.3% had both a return to normal echocardiographic parameters and a BNP