[Pharmacotherapy of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction: heart failure basic therapy and an episode of decompensation].

A qualitative change in the risk profile after an episode of decompensated heart failure (HF) calls for an as immediate as possible therapeutic response. In the absence of uniform guidelines for the sequence and timing of administering the background therapy during the hospitalization period and the subsequent "vulnerable" period, clinicians have to rely on available expert opinions and results of conducted studies. The article focuses on an evidence base for the use of background therapy for HF during the above-mentioned periods. Special attention is paid to the conditions and principles of initiating this therapy.

[Chest pain and chronic heart failure as a manifestation of tertiary syphilis: clinical case].

In cardiological practice, there may be patients with chest pain and heart failure of a specific etiology, including an association with cardiovascular syphilis. This article describes a 49-year patient with chest pain, heart failure, and neurological symptoms associated with ongoing tertiary syphilis. The history included an antisyphilitic treatment 30 years before the current hospitalization. Further evaluation confirmed neuro- and cardiovascular syphilis with severe aortic regurgitation and syphilitic myocarditis. Tertiary syphilis is a rare but relevant challenge for various medical specialists, including cardiologists. This pathology requires increased medical alertness and interdisciplinary interaction for early diagnosis, effective and safe treatment, and improved prognosis.