Edited by
John D. Bisognano, Marc L. Baker,
and Mary Beth Earley

2009

Heart failure (HF) is a chronic progressive disease with less than 50% of patients living five years after their initial diagnosis and less than 25% are alive at 10 years. Our current system of HF care, which is characterized by a cycle of acute hospitalizations and acute episodic outpatient care by a primary or emergency room provider, has not led to great improvement in patient quality of life or prognosis.