Infusion of Furosemide to Improve Diuretic Efficiency in Acute Heart Failure

Acute heart failure is a condition where the heart suddenly cannot pump blood well enough for the body's needs. Many people admitted to the hospital with acute heart failure have too much fluid in the body. This can cause shortness of breath, swelling, and the need for treatment with water-removing medicine.

Furosemide is a commonly used water-removing medicine that is given into a vein to treat fluid overload. It can be given in different ways. One way is as a continuous infusion, where the medicine is given slowly over time through a pump. Another way is as repeated injections given several times a day. It is not known whether one of these ways is better than the other for removing excess fluid in people with acute heart failure.

The purpose of this study is to compare two ways of giving furosemide into a vein: Continuous infusion started with an initial extra dose, and bolus injections given three times a day. About 436 adults admitted to hospitals in Denmark with acute heart failure and fluid overload will take part. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of the two treatment groups. This means that chance will decide which treatment method each participant receives.

The main thing the researchers will measure is how much body weight participants lose about 3 days after randomization. Weight loss is used as a measure of how much excess fluid has been removed.