Summary Writer:  Divya Iyer Script Writer:  Kate Kearney Graham Editor:  Sean Lal Interviewee:  Sean Lal James Edwards does a two-part chat with Dr. Sean Lal. Sean’s clinical and research interests are in heart failure. In this second part of the podcast, we look at: how best to investigate heart failure,
the difference between systolic and diastolic heart failure,
what are the common precipitants,
what type of drugs are used, and
when to escalate care. In Part 1 we go through what heart failure is and it's common causes.
Systolic and diastolic heart failure
Heart failure (HF) is a clinical condition. It's a result of an impaired ability of the heart to provide output to perfuse organs sufficiently. This is due to abnormalities of heart structure and function. There are two main mechanisms by which heart failure can occur. Systolic heart failure results in impaired contractile function. Thereby, it reduces the output to the body. Diastolic dysfunction results from abnormal cardiac relaxation. And this happens where a stiff ventricle is not able to fill adequately. These two pathological processes often coexist together.
About Dr. Sean Lal
Sean Lal is a clinical academic cardiologist at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and the University of Sydney, NSW, Australia. He undertook his training at: the University of Sydney,
Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, and
Harvard Medical School.