Use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers in patients with congestive heart failure: an observational study of treatment rates and clinical outcome.

Background: Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers improve prognosis in congestive heart failure and are the treatment of choice in these patients. Despite this, the rates of ACE-I usage in heart failure patients remain low in clinical practice.

Objectives: To evaluate the rate of ACE-I/ARB treatment in hospitalized patients with CHF, and analyze the reasons for non-treatment.