Hospitalization and mortality rates for heart failure in public hospitals in São Paulo.

Background: Advances in the treatment of heart failure (HF) have resulted in reduced mortality and hospitalization rates. On the other hand, when hospitalized, patients are at high risk of death.

Objective: As there are few studies in this group of patients in Brazil, we analyzed the numbers of hospitalization and deaths due to HF in the Brazilian Public Health System (SUS) in the city of São Paulo.

Infections in heart transplant recipients in Brazil: the challenge of Chagas' disease.

Background: Despite the high incidence of infections after heart transplantation, there is limited information about its epidemiology in patients from countries where Chagas' disease is endemic.

Methods: We analyzed the occurrence of infections in 126 patients aged older than 18 years who underwent transplantation from 1986 through 2007 at a Brazilian University Hospital and who survived at least 48 hours.

Results: Heart failure diagnoses before transplantation were idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (38.