Congestive Heart Failure in the Community

Abstract
IT HAS been estimated that congestive heart failure (CHF) in the United States affects approximately 2.3 million individuals, with 400,000 new cases per year,1 and causes 274,000 deaths per year.2 Although data concerning CHF in the community are essential to evaluate the risk of CHF developing and the impact of care given to patients with CHF in a nonreferral setting, few population-based data are available regarding the incidence and the prognosis of CHF.3-7