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 hemodynamic 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 Societys 2nd Annual Scientific Meeting in Sapporo, molecular biologists, physiologists, clinicians, surgeons, and researchers in related...