ABSTRACT
Acute heart failure can be defined as the sudden onset of heart failure in a patient that
has never had a diagnosis of cardiac disease in the past or as an acute exacerbation
of symptoms in someone who has chronic heart failure resulting in a hospitalization or
a change in therapy. For the purposes of this chapter, “acute heart failure” will refer to
exacerbations of heart failure in patients who already have chronic heart failure defined by
symptomatic systolic dysfunction.
