Journal of Cardiac Failure
Volume 13, Issue 6 , Pages 417-421 , August 2007

Levosimendan Improves Renal Function in Patients With Advanced Chronic Heart Failure Awaiting Cardiac Transplantation

  • Gregor Zemljic, MD

      Affiliations

    • From the Advanced Heart Failure and Transplantation Center, Division of Cardiology, Ljubljana University Medical Center, Ljubljana, Slovenia
  • ,
  • Matjaz Bunc, MD, PhD

      Affiliations

    • From the Advanced Heart Failure and Transplantation Center, Division of Cardiology, Ljubljana University Medical Center, Ljubljana, Slovenia
  • ,
  • Aria P. Yazdanbakhsh, MD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
  • ,
  • Bojan Vrtovec, MD, PhD

      Affiliations

    • From the Advanced Heart Failure and Transplantation Center, Division of Cardiology, Ljubljana University Medical Center, Ljubljana, Slovenia
    • Corresponding Author InformationReprint requests: Bojan Vrtovec, MD, PhD, Division of Cardiology, Ljubljana University Medical Center, Zaloska 7, Ljubljana, Slovenia. MC SI-1000, Ljubljana.

Received 13 September 2006 ,Revised 24 February 2007 ,Accepted 7 March 2007.

References 

  1. Smith GL, Shlipak MG, Havranek EP, et al. Race and renal impairment in heart failure: Mortality in black versus whites. Circulation. 2005;111:1270–1277
  2. Hillege HL, Nitsch D, Pfeffer MA, et al. on behalf of the candesartan in heart failure: assessment of reduction in mortality and morbidity (CHARM) investigators Renal function as a predictor of outcome in a broad spectrum of patients with heart failure. Circulation. 2006;113:671–678
  3. Hillege HL, Girbes ARJ, de Kam PJ, et al. Renal function, neurohormonal activation, and survival in patients with chronic heart failure. Circulation. 2000;102:203–210
  4. Vossler MR, Ni H, Toy W, Hershberger RE. Pre-operative renal function predicts development of chronic renal insufficiency after orthotopic heart transplantation. J Heart Lung Transplant. 2002;21:874–881
  5. Odim J, Wheat J, Laks H, et al. Peri-operative renal function and outcome after orthotopic heart transplantation. J Heart Lung Transplant. 2006;25:162–166
  6. Follath F, Cleland JG, Just H, et al. Efficacy and safety of intravenous levosimendan compared with dobutamine in severe low-output heart failure (the LIDO study): a randomised, double-blind trial. Lancet. 2002;360:196–202
  7. Cleland JG, Freemantle N, Coletta AP, et al. Clinical trials update from the American Heart Association: REPAIR-AMI, ASTAMI, JELIS, MEGA, REVIVE-II, SURVIVE, and PROACTIVE. Eur J Heart Fail. 2006;8:105–110
  8. Swedberg K, Cleland J, Dargie H, et al. Task Force for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Chronic Heart Failure of the European Society of Cardiology. Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of chronic heart failure: executive summary (update 2005): The Task Force for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Chronic Heart Failure of the European Society of Cardiology. Eur Heart J. 2005;26:1115–1140
  9. Costanzo MR, Augustine S, Bourge R, et al. Selection and treatment of candidates for heart transplantation. A statement for health professionals from the Committee on Heart Failure and Cardiac Transplantation of the Council on Clinical Cardiology, American Heart Association. Circulation. 1995;92:3593–3612
  10. Gottlieb SS, Abraham W, Butler J, et al. The prognostic importance of different definitions of WRF in congestive heart failure. J Card Fail. 2002;8:136–141
  11. Sackner-Bernstein JD, Skopicki HA, Aaronson KD. Risk of WRF with nesiritide in patients with acutely decompensated heart failure. Circulation. 2005;111:1487–1491
  12. Slawsky MT, Colucci WS, Gottlieb SS, et al. Acute hemodynamic and clinical effects of levosimendan in patients with severe heart failure. Study Investigators. Circulation. 2000;102:2222–2227
  13. Lilleberg J, Laine M, Palkama T, Kivikko M, Pohjanjousi P, Kupari M. Duration of the haemodynamic action of a 24-h infusion of levosimendan in patients with congestive heart failure. Eur J Heart Fail. 2007;9:75–82
  14. McLean AS, Huang SJ, Nalos M, Ting I. Duration of the beneficial effects of levosimendan in decompensated heart failure as measured by echocardiographic indices and B-type natriuretic peptide. J Cardiovasc Pharmacol. 2005;46:830–835
  15. Pagel P, Hettrick D, Warltier D. Influence of levosimendan, pimobendan, and milrinone on the regional distribution of cardiac output in anaesthetized dogs. Br J Pharmacol. 1996;119:609–615
  16. Oldner A, Konrad D, Weitzberg E, Rudehill A, Rossi P, Wanecek M. Effects of levosimendan, a novel inotropic calcium-sensitizing drug, in experimental septic shock. Crit Care Med. 2001;29:2185–2193
  17. Faivre V, Kaskos H, Callebert J, et al. Cardiac and renal effects of levosimendan, arginine vasopressin, and norepinephrine in lipopolysaccharide-treated rabbits. Anesthesiology. 2005;103:514–521
  18. Zager RA, Johnson AC, Lund S, Hanson SY, Abrass CK. Levosimendan protects against experimental endotoxemic acute renal failure. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2006;290:F1453–F1462
  19. Kivikko M, Lehtonen L. Levosimendan: a new inodilatory drug for the treatment of decompensated heart failure. Curr Pharm Des. 2005;11:435–455
  20. Parissis JT, Adamopoulos S, Antoniades C, et al. Effects of levosimendan on circulating pro-inflammatory cytokines and soluble apoptosis mediators in patients with decompensated advanced heart failure. Am J Cardiol. 2004;93:1309–1312
  21. Shlipak MG, Fried LF, Crump C, et al. Elevations of inflammatory and procoagulant biomarkers in elderly persons with renal insufficiency. Circulation. 2003;107:87–92

PII: S1071-9164(07)00096-6

doi: 10.1016/j.cardfail.2007.03.005

Journal of Cardiac Failure
Volume 13, Issue 6 , Pages 417-421 , August 2007