Heart failure (HF) is a disease that develops into high morbidity/mortality. However, not all patients have a bad evolution. Symptomatic patients and those who require hospitalization for treatment comprise the group with the worst prognosis. Symptom intensity has shown to be a good predictor of prognosis. However, in less symptomatic patients, we have a much more limited capacity to identify those who will have a worse evolution.

In the article “Ser49Gly Beta1-adrenergic Receptor Genetic Polymorphism as a Death Predictor in Brazilian Patients with Heart Failure”, published in this issue, the authors discuss a current topic, in which they show that patient evolution is, at least in part, related to their genetic profile, and that this profile determines the intensity of HF and symptom development.

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