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New ESC Guidelines for Heart Failure - what patients need to know Learn more
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Useful links

General links

Arrhythmia Alliance
British Heart Foundation (BHF
Cardiac Matters
Cardiomyopathy Association
HEART UK
Heart Research UK
British Society of Heart Failure

Heart transplant information

UK Transplant
Cardiomyopathy Association
To transplant and beyond
British Organ Donor Society (BODY)
British Heart Foundation

Help to stop smoking

QUIT
Asian Quit Line
ASH

Recipes

BHF booklets

 

National societies

Austrian Society of Cardiology
Belgian Heart League
Belgian Society of Cardiology
Association of Cardiologists of Bosnia & Herzegovina
British Cardiovascular Society
British Society of Heart Failure
Bulgarian Society of Cardiology
Canadian HF Society of Cardiology
Croatian Cardiac Society
Cyprus Heart Foundation
Czech Society of Cardiology
Danish Heart Foundation
Danish Society of Cardiology
Finnish Cardiac Society
Finnish Heart Association
French Society of Cardiology
French patient website
German Cardiac Society
German Heart Foundation
Hellenic Cardiological Society
Hungarian National Heart Foundation
Hungarian Society of Cardiology
Iceland Heart Association
Irish Cardiac Society
Irish Heart Foundation
Israel Heart Society
Italian Federation of Cardiology
Italian Heart Foundation
Society of Interventional Cardiologists and Endovascular Surgeons of Kazakhstan
Lithuanian Heart Association
Lithuanian Society of Cardiology
Luxembourg Society of Cardiology
Netherlands Heart Foundation
The Netherlands Society of Cardiology
Norwegian Society of Cardiology
Polish Cardiac Society
Portuguese Heart Foundation
Portuguese Society of Cardiology
Romanian Society of Cardiology
Association of Cardiologists of Serbia
Slovak Society of Cardiology
Slovenian Heart Foundation
Slovenian Society of Cardiology
Spanish Heart Foundation
Spanish Society of Cardiology
Swedish Heart Lung Foundation
Swedish Society of Cardiology
Swiss Heart Foundation
Swiss Society of Cardiology
Turkish Heart Foundation
Turkish Society of Cardiology
Tunisian Society of Cardiology and Cardio-Vascular Surgery
Ukrainian Association of Cardiology

The websites listed above are operated by organisations outside of the ESC. The ESC’s inclusion of these links does not imply any endorsement of materials on the websites. You, as the user, are solely responsible for evaluating the accuracy and completeness of any information contained on the websites.

ESC Guidelines for Heart Failure

What patients need to know

This guide for patients from the European Society of Cardiology aims to provide an overview of the latest evidence-based recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of heart failure.

In particular, it should help patients to understand the:

  • main types of heart failure
  • medicines used to treat heart failure
  • devices that may be appropriate
  • importance of rehabilitation
  • management by a multidisciplinary team
  • importance of self-care in managing your own condition

Learn more

Download the Guidelines

AN ANIMATED JOURNEY THROUGH HEART FAILURE

A series of 9 simple, captivating animations explaining heart failure and its treatment.

These narrated animations explain how a healthy heart works, what happens to it in heart failure and how various treatments work to improve your health.

How the normal heart works

How the normal heart works

What goes wrong in heart failure

What goes wrong in heart failure

How the heart and body compensate in heart failure

How the heart and body compensate in heart failure

How heart failure causes fluid accumulation

How heart failure causes fluid accumulation

How a heart attack can cause heart failure

How a heart attack can cause heart failure

How abnormal heart valves can cause heart failure

How abnormal heart valves can cause heart failure

How vasodilators work in heart failure

How vasodilators work in heart failure

How diuretics work in heart failure

How diuretics work in heart failure

How medical devices work in heart failure

How medical devices work in heart failure

USEFUL TOOLS

Click to print these tools to help you monitor your heart failure

PATIENT AND CAREGIVERS VIDEOS

In this section you can watch, listen or read interviews with other people with heart failure and their caregivers.

What can patients do to live better with heart failure and congenital heart disease?

What can patients do to live better with heart failure and congenital heart disease?

What treatments are available for people with heart failure and congenital heart disease?

What treatments are available for people with heart failure and congenital heart disease?

What is heart failure in congenital heart disease?

What is heart failure in congenital heart disease?

Patient in exercise training

Patient in exercise training

Patient with an ICD

Patient with an ICD

An LVAD as a bridge to transplantation

An LVAD as a bridge to transplantation

Adjusting lifestyle and staying optimistic

Adjusting lifestyle and staying optimistic

Living with heart failure devices

Living with heart failure devices

Challenges in making the diagnosis

Challenges in making the diagnosis

Living with an LVAD

Living with an LVAD

VISIT OUR FACEBOOK PAGE

and share your own views and experiences with other patients, families and caregivers.

heartfailurematters.org is a European Society of Cardiology website

The heartfailurematters.org website was developed under the direction of the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). The ESC is a world leader in the discovery and dissemination of best practices in cardiovascular medicine. Our members and decision-makers are healthcare professionals who volunteer their time and expertise to represent professionals in the field of cardiology in Europe and beyond.

The HFA is part of the European Society of Cardiology, a nonprofit Association established under French Law of 1901 and is dedicated to heart failure patient management and increasing the awareness of heart failure as a global health problem.

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