Current Issue January 2012 | Vol. 8, No. 1

Current Topic

Stage B, a Pre-cursor of Heart Failure, Part IGuest Editors: Jay N Cohn, MD, FACC, and Gary Francis, MD, FACC, FAHA, FACP

The concept that structural changes in the left ventricle antedate the clinical syndrome of heart failure was emphasized by the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association committee that prepared their guideline document in 2005 and its revision in 2009. By designating this structural alteration "Stage B" and identifying this patient population as "at risk for heart failure," a they supported the view that the clinical syndrome occurs as the culmination of a progressive process that can be identified long before the patient becomes symptomatic and enters a management phase with high morbidity and mortality. We have therefore elected to label the condition as "Stage B, a pre-cursor of heart failure."