The Sixty-Ninth Mary Scott Newbold Lecture

IT is a privilege to have been asked to give the sixty-ninth Mary Scott Newbold Lecture. The list of my predecessors is indeed distinguished. The topic, cardiac failure, was chosen because my colleagues and I have been concerned with this problem for almost a quarter of a century. In this lecture I propose to outline my present concepts based on the evolution of thinking which has resulted from our work in this field and the impact of the literature. I shall give scant attention to the work of others, not because their work is unimportant, but because time is limited and the material to be covered extensive.