[From diagnostic and therapeutic guidelines to clinical practice in Brazil].

Heart failure (HF) is a clinical syndrome of high incidence and high prevalence all over the world. Available therapeutic options for chronic HF slow the progression of ventricular remodeling and decrease the number of arrhythmic deaths; the resulting increased life expectancy leads to a higher prevalence of heart failure in the community and a higher number of hospital admissions. In Brazil, the largest country in Latin America, hospital admissions due to HF represent approximately 4% of all hospitalizations and 31% of hospitalizations for cardiovascular diseases. Brazilian cardiologists are increasingly following, the Brazilian Society of Cardiology Guidelines on Heart Failure, which are very similar to other international guidelines. Differences between the public and private health systems in our country, although, compromise the compliance of patients to HF treatment, decreasing the efficacy of treatment in the lower social classes.