Heart Failure

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death and disabiLity in the world. By 2015, the World Health Organization predicts that cardiovascular disease will become the leading cause of death worldwide. While advancements in medical and surgical therapies have improved cardiac mortaLity, these advances have led to an increase in the incidence and prevalence of heart failure (HF). Indeed, 75% of cardiovascular patients with ischemic and hypertensive-heart disease will eventually develop HF, emphasizing the impact of this global epidemic. Symptomatic HF affects milLions of people worldwide and incurs bilLions of dollars in hospital costs annually, and the burden is expected to double in the next 1-2 decades. In addition, the current 1-year mortaLity rate after diagnosis of HF remains disturbingly high at 25-40%, and the condition has the worst effect on quaLity of Life of any chronic medical condition. This chapter will review the primary causes of adult HF and highLight causes of HF in the pediatric population.