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Acute heart failure is a symptom complex of heterogeneous etiology. Clinically, it comprises a broad spectrum ranging from hypertensive pulmonary edema in patients with preserved left ventricular systolic function up to cardiogenic shock in patients with severely depressed left ventricular function. The pathophysiology of acute heart failure is based on a mismatch between myocardial pump function and afterload. Besides causal measures, vasodilators and diuretics are the mainstay of therapy. Catecholamines are indicated only when other drugs are unsuccessful. Opioids are often used in clinical practice but should be used cautiously as they are associated with a negative prognosis. Further adjunctive treatment consists of thromboembolism prophylaxis, non-invasive ventilation and in some cases mechanical circulatory support and renal replacement therapy. This article discusses the differential use of these treatment modalities.

Catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) is an established therapeutical option, particularly in treatment of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. This paper presents the results of using the PVAC multi-electrode ablation catheter (PVAC®, Medtronic Ablation Frontiers, Carlsbad, CA, USA). In 253 patients with paroxysmal or persistant AF, 1051 pulmonary veins were isolated, including ablation of 34 left common ostia and 1 right common ostium. Except one vein, all pulmonary veins in all patients were successfully isolated. In 23 patients with documented typical atrial flutter, the right atrial isthmus was additionally ablated within the same procedure. Follow-up (FU) visits were performed after 1, 3, 6 and 12 months with 12-lead-ECG, 24h-Holter-ECG and 4-days-Holter ECG. Mean FU was 11 ± 7 months with 1.1 interventions per patient (24 redo cases). During FU, 122 of 181 patients with paroxysmal AF (69%) and 23 of 40 patients with persistant AF (58%) were in stable sinus rhythm (SR) after ablation. 159 (62.8%) patients wer under antiarrhythmic drugs after ablation, 214 (84.5%) patients with additional β-blockers. Total procedure time was 71 ± 19 min, and total fluoroscopy time was 16 ± 6 min. In 3 cases (1.2%) procedure-related complications occured. Pulmonary vein isolation by using the PVAC-ablation catheter is a safe and effective method in treatment of paroxysmal and persistant AF.