Remarkable progress has been made in understanding and treating heart failure. Among other developments, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and b-blockers have been found to have beneficial therapeutic effects, reinforcing the view that heart failure may be both a haemodynamic and a neurohumoral disorder. The Japanese Heart Failure Society was established to curb the threat of heart failure through research, education, and clinical practice. At the Society's "Annual Scientific Meeting", molecular biologists, physiologists, clinicians, surgeons, and researchers in related fields met to...