Does an intervention designed to improve self-management, social support and awareness of palliative-care address needs of persons with heart failure, family caregivers and clinicians?

Heart failure (HF) is a syndrome characterized by high mortality, frequent hospitalization, reduced quality of life, and a complex therapeutic regimen. Knowledge about HF is accumulating so rapidly that individual clinicians may be unable to readily and adequately synthesize new information into effective strategies of care for patients with this syndrome. Trial data, though valuable, often do not give direction for individual patient management. These characteristics make HF an ideal candidate for practice guidelines. The 2010 Heart Failure Society of America comprehensive practice guideline addresses the full range of evaluation, care, and management of patients with HF. Copyright 2010. Published by Elsevier Inc.