The objective of this text is to synthesise the research based clinical treatment strategies that have been found to be most effective in the clinical management of heart failure as a disease. Incorporating recommendations from state of the art guidelines, the text comprehensively addresses both in-patient management of acute exacerbations, and out-patient management to improve survival, quality of life, and functional status. The editors are active members of the American Heart Association and influential councils on clinical cardiology and cardiovascular medicine, and have assembled a team of contributors prominent in the field of heart failure and transplantation. They aim, through this publication, to translate the findings of recent research into a practical clinical framework for physicians caring for patients on a daily basis.