Summary: Chronic heart failure is a disease whose significance and incidence is increasing rapidly. This is related to both aging of society and better developed diagnostics. In recent years the definition of heart failure has undergone many changes to best reflect its character. The coexistence of many etiological factors and modern forms of therapy implies the necessity of a comprehensive understanding of the diagnosis and treatment process in order to optimally choose the therapeutic path. Treatment should be targeted not only at the underlying disease, but also at any comorbidities. Stopping the progression of the disease, prolonging survival or reducing re-hospitalization are just some of the goals in the management of heart failure. Difficult access to specialist care means that this problem largely falls to primary care physicians. Often they are responsible for educating the patient, observing and recognizing decompensation, and starting and modifying pharmacotherapy. In this paper, we will try to help them make the right therapeutic choices in the spirit of evidence-based medicine.