CURRENTOPINION The Year in Cardiology The Year in Cardiology 2013: heart failure

Heart failure has become a worldwide epidemic of the 21st century with increasing impact on healthcare systems. The 2012 ESC and 2013 ACCF/ AHA guidelines have set the stage forcurrent therapy to reduce mortality and morbidity. There is a dawnof hope for therapyof acute and diastolic heart failure; it has become clearer that patients benefit from mitral reconstruction and which patients benefit from heart failure management programmes; genetics and proteomics advance in great strides; competing concepts of cell therapy seem to spiral, hopefully upwards; and we can further nurture our hope for evidence-based individualized diagnostic and therapy