Heart failure and digitalis

Heart failure (HF) is one of the main health and social problems of our time and it is the lead ing diagnosis in the patients over 65, and its mor tality rate, ranges from 15-60%. New and current methods of coronary disease treatment have caused the decrease in the mortality from acute myocardial infarction, but there have been more patients with heart failure. Digitalis has been used in the treatment of heart failure, for 217 years, but a few extensive and strictly randomised studies performed in the last 10 years have undoubtedly confirmed the attitude that its use. in heart failure lead to symptomatic improvement, but not to the prolongation of lifetime, in the. sense, of survival.