The aim of this paper is to raise awareness of heart failure as a major health burden throughout Europe and provide recommendations for actions to curb the burden at both a personal level and at a health system level.

Heart failure brings about dramatic changes in people’s lives.

In developed countries, the prevalence is 1-2% of the population; this means that more than 10 million people in the EU could be affected. The prevalence of heart failure is set to increase, due to an ageing population and occurrence of co-morbidity factors. In most westernised economies, heart failure is responsible for about 2% of all healthcare expenditure. A study from 2014 estimated the costs related to heart failure in the EU to be around €29 billion in one year.

Early diagnosis is key as is early initiation of appropriate treatment to relieve symptoms, prevent additional organ damage and improve prognosis.

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