Congestive heart failure (CHF) has tremendous human and financial costs. Nearly 5 million people in the United States suffer from CHF, and 550,000 new cases of CHF will be diagnosed in the U.S. this year. Annual expenditures for CHF are estimated to be $28.8 billion. Scios Inc. understands that, in order to overcome the burdens of this disease, new approaches to therapy are needed to improve patients' lives and reduce treatment costs.

To address these issues, Scios develops innovative products and novel approaches to treat CHF patients and sponsors an observational data registry, ADHERE^® (Acute Decompensated Heart Failure National Registry).

With NATRECOR^® (nesiritide), Scios brought patients a treatment for acute decompensated CHF. The goal of ADHERE^® is to help the medical community better understand acute CHF, improve its management and enhance quality of care.

About Heart Failure and Congestive Heart Failure
Many people misunderstand exactly what heart failure (HF) means. HF does not mean that the heart has stopped or is about to stop. HF is a serious illness in which the heart doesn't pump blood through the body as well as it should. The heart still beats, but it pumps less nutrient- and oxygen-rich blood to the rest of the body. Because of this, HF can make a patient feel tired or weak. HF can also cause swelling and fluid buildup in the legs, feet, and even the lungs. Fluid buildup in the lungs is often referred to as "congestion", which is why HF is sometimes called "congestive heart failure (CHF)."

About Acute Heart Failure and Acutely Decompensated Congestive Heart Failure
When a congestive heart failure patient's condition worsens to the point that a visit to the hospital may be required, the patient is described as having experienced acute heart failure or acutely decompensated congestive heart failure. The term decompensated is a medical term used to describe patients whose condition has deteriorated.

AHF is a major public health problem. It is the leading cause of hospitalization in persons over 65 years of age and accounts for approximately one million hospital admissions each year in the United States. Hospitalizations for AHF increased from 377,000 in 1979 to 999,000 in 2000 in the United States. The major expenditure for HF care is hospitalization, with an estimated $12.7 billion spent per year on inpatient management of AHF.

Symptoms of Heart Failure
Congestive heart failure (CHF) symptoms that result from the pooling of blood include shortness of breath, edema (fluid retention), and swelling of the legs and feet. CHF symptoms that result from the inefficiency of the heart to distribute or adequately pump oxygen-rich blood to body tissues include fatigue and weakness, as well as loss of appetite. As CHF progresses, these symptoms can severely impact the patient's quality of life, so that even the ability to perform simple tasks, such as walking across a room, becomes limited.