Treatment of the patient with heart failure: Recommendations of the ACC/AHA Task Force for the Evaluation and Management of Heart Failure

It is now widely recognized that heart failure is a problem of growing magnitude. It is consuming an ever expanding amount of limited healthcare dollars, yet remains a lethal syndrome with a high morbidity. In recognition of these findings, a number of practice guidelines have been developed, including those reported by the ACC/AHA Task Force for the Evaluation and Management of Heart Failure. A synopsis of these guidelines is herein provided, underscoring certain similarities and differences from the guidelines developed by the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research. The readers are reminded that these guidelines should be viewed as the collective opinion of a group of experts, and are likely to change as new data become available. In the final analysis, the individual physician's judgement should always be the final arbitrator.