Inflammatory Mediators and the Failing Heart

Recent studies have identified the importance of proinflammatory mediators in the development and progression of heart failure. The growing appreciation of the pathophysiological consequences of sustained expression of proinflammatory mediators in preclinical and clinical heart failure models culminated in a series of multicenter clinical trials that used "targeted" approaches to neutralize tumor necrosis factor in patients with moderate to advanced heart failure. However, these targeted approaches have resulted in worsening heart failure, thereby raising a number of important questions about what role, if any, proinflammatory cytokines play in the pathogenesis of heart failure. This review will summarize the…

• UD
  U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
• NI
  National Institutes of Health