Bringing a major public health problem into the era of evidence-based medical practice, this important textbook successfully tackles the lack of evidence for practice in caring for patients with acute heart failure. patients effectively, key elements of the text include: * a definition of the problem, including its scope and epidemiology * common complications and comorbid conditions * an in-depth review of the pharmacological therapy for acute heart failure. includes chapters on psychosocial aspects, nursing care, and disease management, which clarify many issues about the total care of the patient and family that are often ignored in medical textbooks. practitioners caring for patients with this increasingly common, difficult, and fatal disease.