Acute heart failure (AHF) patients are defined as those who present with heart failure (HF) signs and symptoms in need of urgent or emergent therapy.  Approximately 5.8 million people in the United States carry a diagnosis of HF and some 670,000 people are diagnosed with the condition each year.  Approximately one in five people who have HF die within one year of their diagnosis.  In 2010, the estimated cost of HF in the US was $39.2 billion with over half of this cost consumed by hospitalization related costs. Despite 10 years of efforts to improve outcomes for AHF with novel therapies, post-discharge re-hospitalization and mortality continue to affect approximately 35% of patients.  Such hospitalization rates are not benign; approximately 1/3rd of AHF patients will be dead or re-hospitalized within 3 months after discharge.   HF is the costliest and most common cause of re-admission for Medicare beneficiaries.  Yet the therapies to treat these patients are largely the same today as 4 decades ago.   Despite countless attempts to improve outcomes from AHF, post-discharge re-hospitalization and mortality rates remain unacceptably high, similar today as to 10 years ago. ,    However, tremendous progress has been made in our understanding of AHF, the heterogeneity of the patient population, and the current state-of-the-art in regards management. Given the intense focus on improving outcomes for these patients (i.e. reducing 30-day readmissions, improving signs and symptoms, decreasing mortality) knowledge of the latest advances in this area are critical for the practicing physician. 

Educational Needs
Despite tremendous advances in cardiovascular care, the post-discharge event rate from AHF has not changed in the last decade. It is critical that physicians be educated on the emerging data for the optimum treatment of AHF as well as strategies to improve patient outcomes.  

Conclusions
Strategies for early diagnosis, better treatment options, and improved clinical outcomes for HF patients are evolving.  Despite tremendous advances in cardiovascular care, the post-discharge event rate from AHF, defined by mortality and re-hospitalization, has not changed in the last decade. This state of the art session will focus on the management of Acute Heart Failure (AHF), including advances in diagnosis, prognosis, and recent or late-breaking clinical trials that impact the early management and future research directions in AHF.