Introduction

Heart Failure (HP) is a major source of morbidity and mortality worldwide. In the United States, five million people carry this diagnosis. It accounts for in excess of one million hospitalizations and costs approximately 30 billion to treat. The elderly population is particularly affected since more than 80% of those hospitalized for HF are over age 65 years. Despite the development of evidence-based therapy and guidelines in the management of chronic HF for use by physicians and other health care providers, the mortality remains high.