A Presidential Perspective
Raising Awareness of Heart Failure

Originally Published February 1999.

Four and a half million Americans have heart failure and substantially more have enlarged hearts but remain asymptomatic and undiagnosed. For these reasons, the Heart Failure Society of America has developed an awareness campaign "that we hope to kick off by having a week in early 2000 declared as 'Heart Failure Awareness Week,'" said Arthur M. Feldman MD, PhD, HFSA President (Now Immediate Past-President).

"First we want to make people aware that heart failure is a specific disease entity that's of epidemic proportions in the United States." "Second, we want to make people aware of the fact that when diagnosis early, it is a disease that can be effectively treated with medications and that medications can actually improve survival. We want people to understand that heart failure is not a death sentence, that one needs to get good medical care, take the appropriate medications, and that by doing that patients can continue to lead a productive life."

"And then lastly, we want people to understand the common signs and symptoms of heart failure, which would be shortness of breath, swelling of the ankles (edema), and fatigue."

This public and government agency educational effort is the most visible of the three initiatives the Society is currently pursuing. The second includes expanding participation to include nurses and other healthcare providers, "and to do that, we formed a Nursing Committee, which will meet for the first time in San Francisco. We hope that committee will develop strategies and programs of particular interest and value to nurses and nurse practioners."

The third initiative is to provide more didactic information to all caregivers of patients with heart failure, through the publication of White Papers, guidelines, consensus statements, and outreach educational programs.