Resumen de los ensayos clínicos presentados en las Sesiones Científicas Anuales de la American Heart Association (Orlando, Estados Unidos, 14-18 de noviembre de 2009)

[Heart failure and heart transplant]

The mission of the Heart Failure and Transplantation Section of the Spanish Society of Cardiology is to study, to promote interest in, and to disseminate information about all aspects of myocardial dysfunction and heart transplantation. Heart failure is a highly prevalent condition that consumes a substantial proportion of healthcare resources. Consequently, there is considerable interest in the disorder. Numerous lines of clinical and preclinical research are actively being pursued and new ways of increasing knowledge about the disease are constantly being explored. The aim of this article was to describe the most recent developments concerning heart failure and its treatment. Firstly, the latest publications on chronic heart failure are analyzed. Then, there is a review of the most recent studies on resynchronization therapy and of clinical trials on acute heart failure. Thirdly, new developments in right heart dysfunction and pulmonary hypertension, and the findings of the Spanish Pulmonary Hypertension Registry are discussed. Finally, the latest information on ventricular assist devices and heart transplantation is presented. In addition, the most important data obtained from official transplantation registries (i.e. the Spanish Heart Transplantation Registry and the Spanish Post-Heart Transplantation Tumor Registry) are reviewed.