Heart failure is affecting an increasing number of
individuals in the industrialised countries and is
associated with a poor prognosis.1 The one-year
survival rate has been estimated at 80–90% in mild
to moderate heart failure2 and 50–60% in severe
heart failure,3 which is more malignant than
breast, bowel, bladder, prostate and ovarian
cancer.4 Heart failure is also associated with high
morbidity and is the most common discharge
diagnosis for patients over 65 years of age, in many
industrialised countries.5,6 In Sweden, hospital
costs account for 50 to 75% of the total costs for
heart failure, while drug costs only account for
2–8%.7