Circulation
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We sought to describe the resuscitation preferences of patients hospitalized with an exacerbation of severe congestive heart failure, perceptions of those preferences by their physicians, and the stability of the preferences. ⋯ Almost one quarter of patients hospitalized with severe heart failure expressed a preference not to be resuscitated. The physician's perception of the patient's preference was not accurate in about one quarter of the cases. but communication was not associated with greater agreement between the patient and the physician. A substantial proportion of patients who did not want to be resuscitated changed their minds within 2 months of discharge.