In a poll of European cardiologists, one of the most popular of the given definitions of heart failure centres on the abnormality of ventricular function. However, opinion remains divided on the necessity of a distinction between diastolic and systolic heart failure, as it does on the value and procedures of stress testing. The 'no-reflow' phenomenon continues to pose a challenge in conditions requiring myocardial reperfusion, and precise identification of some heart disorders apparently remains difficult in many cases. Drug treatment of conditions like left ventricular dysfunction of arterial hypertension is open to continuing discussion, but calcium antagonists seem assured of an important role.