Definition, epidemiology, and burden of disease: HFrEF

Heart failure is the final common stage of many diseases of the heart, caused by structural and/or functional cardiac abnormalities, resulting in a reduced cardiac output. The clinical profile of patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) is generally more severe than that of patients with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction. HFrEF remains a relevant problem, despite the improvements in its management achieved in the last decades, leading to large economic costs, frequent hospitalization, and high levels of mortality.