Congestive heart failure severity and mortality can be predicted by
the measurement of quality of life (QuoL). Treatment should be started immediately
after congestive heart failure is diagnosed, Perhaps the most important and yet most
neglected aspect of treatment involves lifestyle modifications. Despite medical
advances over the past two decades, mortality remains high at 50% within five years
of diagnosis. Furthermore, providing appropriate evidence-based care for heart
failure patients requires the integration and implementation of complex management
strategies. At the beginning of the 21stcentury, heart failure specialists must be able
to do much more than ever before. Therapies such as medications, catheter-based
coronary interventions, electrophysiologic procedures and devices, transplantation,
mechanical circulatory support, and even immune modulation therapies now need to
be understood and appropriately deployed. The gap between the number and the
need for qualified heart failure specialists is widening.
