The decrease in mortality rates associated with a 10 mmHg higher SBP was 13.0% in the HF population. In a recent study by Ather et al92 incorporating data from 2 large cohorts of ambulatory patients with chronic HF, it was noted that the relationship of BP and mortality is differ- ent in patients with mild and those with severe LV sys- tolic dysfunction. In patients with mild to moderate LV systolic dysfunction, SBP was found to have a nonlinear U-shaped association with increased all-cause mortality at both the lower and upper ranges of SBP (Figure 3A). It should be noted, however, that these numbers were defined to have an association with mortality in a retro- spective analyses, were not defined or validated targets in a prospective, controlled trial, and thus should not be accepted as a target for BP control in patients with HF. In the same study, in patients with severe LV systolic dys- function with LVEF <30%, SBP was found to have a linear association, with lower SBP being associated with worse mortality (Figure 3B), similar to what has been described in other HF studies. Nu ez et al93 also noted a differen- tial prognostic effect of SBP on mortality according to LV function in patients with acute decompensated HF. These results suggest that the association of SBP with mortality may vary with LV function severity. In patients with HF with preserved or mildly depressed LV function, SBP appears to have a nonlinear U-shaped relationship, with increased mortality at both ends of low or high BP. In patients with HF with severe LV systolic dysfunction Figure 2. Effect of baseline systolic blood pressure (SBP) in all-cause mortality in the Valsartan Heart Failure Trial. 