Abstract

Heart failure (HF) has become one of the most important contemporary medical challenges. A report from the Polish Cardiac Society states that 1.2 million people in Poland have HF, characterized by a 40% 5-year mortality rate, annual treatment costs of PLN 1.7 billion, and a total expenditure of PLN 6.2 billion on direct costs [1]. There is a lack of up-to-date data on risk factors, clinical symptoms, pharmacotherapy, use of devices, as well as the clinical indicators of re-exacerbations and prognosis [2]. Therefore, through the Scientific Platform of the Polish Cardiac Society, we conducted an observational study, the HEart failuRe ObsErvational Study of the Polish Cardiac Society (HEROES). The main objective of the HEROES was to obtain comprehensive and contemporary clinical data in a representative population of Polish HF patients in both outpatient and hospital settings in cardiology and internal medicine departments. One of the most important aims of the study was to describe current treatment, including adherence to the latest European and Polish HF guidelines [3]. Moreover, the European HF Registry [4] has introduced novel methods of treatment. The HEROES database allowed not only the examination of the impact of those novel methods on prognosis but also exploration of current topics in modern HF management (i.e., frailty).