Current Problems in Cardiology
Volume 32, Issue 10 , Page 551, October 2007

Foreword

Article Outline

 

Heart failure (HF) is an important cause of mortality and morbidity in the US. The American Heart Association estimates the following:

1.That there are 5,000,000 people with HF

2.That each year 550,000 new cases occur

3.That at age 40, lifetime risk of developing HF is 1 in 5

4.That hospital discharges for HF were 1,093,000 in 2003

5.That 80% of men and 70% of women under age 65 who have HF will die within 8 years

6.That the overall death rate for HF was 19.7%

7.That the direct and indirect costs of HF in 2006 was $29.6 million

Medical therapy has had remarkable success in the treatment of HF, and more recently, implantable devices have been shown to be of benefit in selected patients. Nevertheless, there is a considerable body of patients in whom these methods of treatment have been exhausted. In this, the “end-stage HF,” many surgical procedures are available for selected patients. Dr. Acker is a leading expert in both the clinical and the research application of these procedures, which he has reviewed in the present article that has 141 references.

The Editorial Board and I are grateful to Drs. Blom and Acker for this excellent article. We are grateful to Drs. Barry Greenberg⁎ and Patrick McCarthy† for their very thoughtful and superb comments that are most helpful.

  • ⁎ Barry Greenberg, MD, is Professor of Medicine and Director, Advanced Heart Failure Program at University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA.
  • † Patrick M. McCarthy, MD, is Professor of Surgery, Chief, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Co-director Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL.

PII: S0146-2806(07)00079-5

doi:10.1016/j.cpcardiol.2007.06.002

Current Problems in Cardiology
Volume 32, Issue 10 , Page 551, October 2007

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