Excerpt

Improvements in the management of acute myocardial infarction together with population aging have made heart failure a growing burden to health care. This improved management originates from an optimized clinical approach to acute coronary syndromes and the efficacy of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Both factors have contributed to the reduction of acute mortality in patients faced with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).1 In this setting, a challenge has arisen in identifying those patients who are at risk of progressive adverse remodeling and myocardial dysfunction. This challenge now constitutes one of the driving forces in cardiovascular clinical research. …