REMATCH and beyond: the cost of treating heart failure using an implantable left ventricular assist device.

Congestive heart failure is an increasingly widespread debilitating fatal condition that generates a high cost to patients, society, and health care systems. Nearly 6.5 million people in Europe and 5 million people in the United States have congestive heart failure. Unlike most cardiovascular diseases in industrialized countries, congestive heart failure is becoming more common. Therapies include medical approaches, implantable assist devices, and cardiac transplantation. Mechanical assistance devices rather than medical therapy offer improvement in quality of life and survival.