Anaesthesia for Patients with Acute Heart Failure

Acute heart failure (AHF) is a clinical syndrome, which more often occurs in the anaesthesiologists‘ clinical practice. This syndrome aggravates patient‘s state and it is associated with an increased risk of perioperative morbidity and mortality. Besides, the increasing number of patients with critical states (cardiogenic shock) who require anaesthesia is seen. Therefore, it is very important to identify patients with acute heart failure and to assess the severity of their state before surgery. Patients‘ complains, their progression and duration, objective signs, diagnostic tests must be assessed. More attention for patients with acute heart failure should be given not only before surgery, while trying to assess and improve patients‘ state, but also during surgery, while vital functions are being observed, and after surgery, while trying to avoid potential complications. In this article the most important aspects of the anaesthesiological care for patients with acute heart failure (with or without cardiogenic shock) in preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative periods are reviewed. Article in Lithuanian