摘要
Heart failure (HF) is a major health problem for the geriatric population. In the United States, most of the 5 millions patients with HF are elderly.1 Seventy-five percent of HF hospitalizations occurred in patients older than 65 years and 50% in patients 75 years and older.1 In the Framingham population, the prevalence of HF increased eightfold among men from the fifth decade of life to the seventh decade.2 However, despite of considerable improvement in the treatment, the mortality of HF patients remained relatively constant between 1948 and 1997.
