Management of Acutely De-compensated Heart Failure in Canines

Heart failure is a clinical syndrome that results from impaired filling or emptying of the heart. Acute clinical deterioration typically results from an apparently sudden rise in ventricular filling pressures in patients with previously compensated heart disease. The urgent presentation of veterinary patients with heart disease is most often prompted by development of respiratory distress resulting from pulmonary edema. This brief review will address the diagnostic and therapeutic management of acutely decompensated heart failure (ADHF).