Why congestive heart failure?
Sullivan: As we develop more drugs and devices to cope with acute heart problems, we are left with more and more people with a chronic illness. Somewhere between two and four million people suffer from chronic heart failure in this country. It is a life-threatening illness-the death rate is higher than that of cancer. Nevertheless, it is also a chronic illness-something that people have to learn to live with. We believe that these patients can truly benefit from treatment that looks at them as whole people-body, mind, and spirit. We also believe it is important to address how these patients look at end of life issues. Q: In addition to the CHF program, what other existing strengths at Duke are you tapping into? Krucoff: One of the reasons we were awarded this grant is that we were in a position to orchestrate a unique, formidable combination of disciplines that can all focus on the same questions. The program draws heavily on the Center for Integrative Medicine, the Institute for Care
