ABSTRACT
TREATMENT GOALS Heart failure treatment goals should include improvement in symptoms, increased functional capacity, prevention or partial amelioration of left ventricular remodeling, and improvement in survival (1,2). Obese patients should lose weight, smokers should discontinue tobacco use, and low-level aerobic physical activity should be encouraged. Every effort should be made to identify and correct reversible causes for heart failure. Specifi c treatment should be initiated for anemia, thyrotoxicosis, or other causes of high output failure. Systemic hypertension should be aggressively treated, and surgical correction of signifi cant valvular or congenital cardiac lesions should be considered. Withdrawal of any cardiac depressants, such as alcohol (2 drinks/day) should be encouraged.
