The epidemiology of heart failure (HF) is still unsettled, above all in European countries, because of marked differences in coding and management modalities. To date, most of our data came from analyses of dedicated studies and trials. 1,2 The Heart Failure Association (HFA) Atlas is a novel European data set, developed to provide a contemporary description of HF epidemiology and management. 3,4 The median incidence of HF was 3.2 [interquartile range (IQR) 2.66-4.17] cases per 1000 person-years; the median HF prevalence was 17.20 (IQR 14.30-21) cases per 1000 people and the median number of HF hospitalizations was 2671 (IQR 1771-4317) per million people, annually. A large heterogeneity among different countries both with respect to epidemiology and management was shown. 3
Diagnosis and prognosis
Endomyocardial biopsyTreatment of cardiomyopathies and myocarditis remains challenging. [5][6][7] Indications to endomyocardial biopsy needed to be updated accordingly and this issue hosts a consensus document developed by HFA, HF Society of America and Japanese HF Society. 8 Evidence-based medical treatment is still underused in patients with HF and reduced ejection fraction. 23,24 In a HFA consensus document, Rosano et al. 25 identified nine patient profiles which may inform treatment choices. These profiles include patients with atrial fibrillation, low blood pressure, tachycardia, chronic kidney disease, hyperkalaemia, congestion, or pre-discharge status. A strategy of rapid sequencing of evidence-based treatment was also proposed to optimize medical treatment. 26