Navigating the Crossroads of Coronary Artery Disease and Heart Failure

Chronic heart failure (HF) affects 5 million patients in theUnited States and is responsible for 1 million hospi-talizations and 300 000 deaths annually.1 The total annual costs associated with this disorder have been estimated to exceed $40 billion.1,2 Chronic HF is the only category of cardiovascular diseases for which the prevalence, incidence, hospitalization rate, total burden of mortality, and costs have increased in the past 25 years.1,2 Fueling this epidemic is the increasing number of elderly patients developing impaired left ventricular (LV) function as a manifestation of chronic coronary artery disease (CAD).1,2 With the aging of the population and decline in mortality of other forms of cardio-vascular diseases, it is likely that the incidence of HF and its impact on public health will continue to increase.1–3 CAD and HF: Epidemiology and Prognosis In the past 3 decades, considerable attention has focused o