Results of the major study that compared nesiritide against another vasodilator, nitroglycerin, the Vasodilation in the Management of Acute Congestive Heart Failure study, showed that although the two drugs had similar effects on systolic blood pressure, nesiritide treatment worked faster and better than nitroglycerin for reducing pulmonary capillary wedge pressure, he said (JAMA 2002;287:1531–40).
Recently, a new name for acute decompensation, “cardiovascular renal insufficiency,” was coined by Dr. Gheorghiade and Marvin Konstam, M.D., chief of cardiology at Tufts-New England Medical Center in Boston. They hope the new name will guide physicians to the important therapeutic targets of the condition, and help establish a new identity for the syndrome as its critical clinical features become better defined.