Current concept in the diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of patients with congestive heart failure

Table 1 Comparison of American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Stages of HF and New York Heart Association Functional Classifications (data from[2])

	ACC/AHA Stages of HF		NYHA Functional Classification	Restriction of physical activity
A	At high risk for HF but without structural heart disease or symptoms of HF (e.g., diabetes, arterial hypertension)		/	/
B	Structural heart disease but without symptoms of HF	I	Regular physical activity does not cause dyspnea and fatigue – asymptomatic	No limitation of physical activity
C	Structural heart disease with prior or current symptoms of HF	I	Regular physical activity does not cause dyspnea and fatigue – asymptomatic	No limitation of physical activity
		II	Moderate physical activity results in milder dyspnea and fatigue	Slight limitation of physical activity
		III	No difficulty at rest; minimal physical activity leads to exhaustion, dyspnea, and fatigue	Marked limitation of physical activity
		IV	Symptomatic at rest	Unable to carry on any physical activity without symptoms of HF
D	Refractory HF requiring specialized interventions	IV	Symptomatic at rest	Unable to carry on any physical activity without symptoms of HF

ACC/AHA: American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association; HF: Heart failure; NYHA: New York Heart Association.