INTRODUCTION: Heart Failure (HF) is one of the leading causes of hospitalization in Canada. While great advances have been made in the treatment of this disease, factors limiting the effectiveness of treatment include: poor compliance to dietary guidelines and medications, patients' lack of understanding about the impact of their disease, a lack of understanding of the impact of their lifestyle habits on their disease and the lack of systematic monitoring of patients following hospitalization. The objective of this trial of education and compliance in heart failure patients (TEACH) is to measure in patients with heart failure who are hospitalized and then discharged into the community, the impact of a comprehensive outpatient educational intervention on: