ABSTRACT
Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a clinical symptom complex characterized by fatigue, dyspnea, reduced exercise tolerance, lower extremity and pulmonary edema associated with abnormal handling of sodium by the kidney. There are an estimated 25-30 million patients with heart failure worldwide. Heart failure may occur at any age, but has a predilection for the elderly, occurring in 6-10% of subjects over the age of 65 years. The prevalence of CHF increases with advancing age, and as the population ages, the management of heart failure will attain epidemic proportions. Currently, CHF is the most common hospital discharge diagnosis in patients aged over 65 years, and the costs for this diagnostic-related group (DRG) in the USA alone have already exceeded $28 billion per year.
Systolic versus diastolic heart failure
