The text explains new and modified recommendations, whereas recommendations from the previous guideline Table 1. Applying Class of Recommendation and Level of Evidence to Clinical Strategies, Interventions, Treatments, or Diagnostic Testing in Patient Care* (Updated August 2015) 2017 ACC/AHA/HFSA Heart Failure Focused Update CLINICAL STATEMENTS AND GUIDELINES that have been deleted or superseded no longer ap- pear. Please consult the full-text version of the 2013 for text and evidence tables supporting the unchanged recommendations and for clinical areas not addressed in this focused update. Individual recom- mendations in this focused update will be incorporated into the full-text guideline in the future. Recommenda- tions from the prior guideline that remain current have been included for completeness, but the LOE reflects the COR/LOE system used when the recommendations were initially developed. New and modified recommen- dations in this focused update reflect the latest COR/ LOE system, in which LOE B and C are subcategorized for greater specificity.4 6 The section numbers corre- spond to the full-text guideline sections. 1.2. Organization of the Writing Group For this focused update, representative members of the 2013 HF guideline writing committee were invit- ed to participate. They were joined by additional in- vited members to form a new writing group, which is referred to as the 2017 HF focused update writing group. Members were required to disclose all RWI rel- evant to the data under consideration. The group was composed of experts representing general cardiolo- gists, HF and transplantation specialists, electrophysi- ologists, pharmacists, and general internists. The 2017 HF focused update writing group included representa- tives from the ACC, AHA, and HFSA, as well as the American Academy of Family Physicians, American College of Chest Physicians, American College of Phy- sicians, and International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation. 1.3. 