Heart Failure: The Need for Global Health Perspective

Heart failure (HF) is an important cardiovascular disease in its own right, a risk factor for disease (atrial fibrillation, stroke, coronary artery disease), and a consequence of other diseases (e.g. rheumatic, hypertensive or coronary artery disease), therefore posing a triple threat to public health [6-12]. Heart failure is an important cause of hospitalisation and incurs huge costs to the individual and to society [4]. HF represents the common final pathway for all forms of cardiac disease, regardless of the aetiology. The role of HF in all stages in the development of CVD makes it an important focus for prevention and control of CVD, and for broader health policy approaches.