Chapter 9 Chronic heart failure with preserved ejection fraction

• Chronic heart failure with preserved ejection fraction is as common as chronic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction.• After hospitalization for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, prognosis and rehospitalization rates are comparable to heart failure with reduced ejection fraction.• Systolic function of the cardiac muscle is impaired in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.• According to a recent consensus statement of the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology, the diagnosis of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction remains challenging, but the use of serum brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) has increased accuracy.• Treatment of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction should be empiric, and phenotype-oriented as well as symptom-oriented.