NTRODUCTION

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States and worldwide (1), and congestive heart failure (CHF)4 is the third most common cause in this category. In the United States, CHF has an estimated direct and indirect cost of $39.2 billion/y (2). Furthermore, 50% of patients with CHF will die within 5 y (3, 4).

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