The pathophysiologic process of ventricular remodeling: from infarct to failure.

In the past, hypertensive heart disease was the principal cause of congestive heart failure, but currently ischemic heart disease is the major etiologic factor. In the last 20 years, the role of myocardial infarction (MI) and the subsequent alteration in ventricular architecture of the infarcted and noninfarcted myocardium have become increasingly associated with a phenomenon known as ventricular remodelling. This process consists of left ventricular wall thinning in the infarction area, ventricular chamber dilatation, and compensatory hypertrophy of the noninfarcted portion of the myocardium. This article describes the pathophysiologic transformation that begins with MI and ventricular remodeling and ends in congestive heart failure.