Interventional therapy in heart failure management.

The incidence and prevalence of congestive heart failure are rapidly increasing because of the progressive decrease in age-adjusted mortality rates for coronary artery disease and hypertensive heart disease, together with the progressive aging of the US population. Despite great advances in maximal medical therapy, most patients with symptomatic congestive heart failure can expect functional impairment, interludes of worsening symptomatology, and a shortened life span. Thus, it is appropriate to ask whether the interventional revolution that is under way for the management of ischemic cardiovascular disease can be applied with benefit to the management of congestive heart failure. The use of interventional therapies for the treatment of elderly patients with congestive heart failure caused by coronary artery disease, valvular heart disease, or renal vascular disease is addressed.