简介:HeartFailureisasyndromeratherthanaspecificdiagnosis.Itisthefinalresultofmanydiseasesaffectingtheheart.Heartfailureisusuallyviewedintermsofheartmuscledisease,butothercausesofthesyndromeincludevalxaxlarheartdiseaseandchronicarrhythmias.Inindustrializedsocieties,themostcommoncauseofheartfailureiscoronaryarterydisease.Asubstantialminorityofpatientshave'dilatedcardiomyopathy',inwhichthereisintrinsicheartmuscledamagewithnormalcoronaryarteries.Bydefinition,thecauseofcardiomyopathyisunknown,andthisdiagnosisshouldthereforeeventuallydisappearonceallthecausesofheartmuscledysfunctionareidentified.Therangeofcausesofspecificheartmusclediseaseisalreadywide(Figure1).
简介:AcuterheumaticfeverisinitiatedbygroupAstreptococcalphar-yngitis.Thisisfollowedbyalatentperiodof2-6weeks,afterwhichtheclinicalsyndromeofacuterheumaticfeverevolves,characterizedbypolyarthritis,carditis,chorea,erythemamarginatumandsubcutaneousnodules.Thesefeaturesmayoccursinglyorinanycombination.