ABSTRACT
Management goals As discussed earlier, HF is a disease with high rates of mortality and complications. The goals of therapy are to improve and maintain quality of life, including improved functional status. Extension of life is also a goal, but for many patients with advanced HF, this may be of secondary importance. The general practitioner may often be faced with decisions regarding medications which improve the patient’s prognosis, but are associated with side-effects. Certainly where side-effects are causing impairment to the patient’s quality of life, dose reduction may need to be considered, despite the reduction in mortality benefit that may occur.
