Epidemiology of Heart Failure.

Heart failure (HF) is a major public health problem affecting more than 23 million patients worldwide. Incidence and prevalence rates vary significantly according to the source of data, but both increase with advancing age reaching, in the very elderly, prevalence rates that represent a challenge for the organization of medical care systems. Even if evidence-based treatments have improved prognosis in some patients with HF, patients with HF still need to be carefully characterized, described, and treated. Hospitalizations for acute HF are frequent and costly accounting for the vast majority of HF-related costs.