Geriatric Out of Hospital Randomized Meal Trial in Heart Failure

Inclusion Criteria: 66 male and female patients aged ≥ 55 years with history of systemic hypertension and acutely decompensated heart failure (ADHF; primary diagnosis for admission or secondary diagnosis after hospitalization for another reason). ADHF will be confirmed by the study physician and defined as a combination of symptoms, signs, and HF-specific medical treatments. Specifically, ADHF will require that all four of the following conditions are met: * ≥1 symptom of HF (dyspnea, fatigue, orthopnea, paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea) has worsened from baseline * ≥ 2 signs of HF (pulmonary congestion on exam and/or chest X-ray, elevated jugular venous pressure, peripheral edema or rapid weight gain, and/or increased B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP; ≥100 pg/ml) * change in medical treatment specifically targeting HF (diuretics, vasodilators, and/or neurohormonal modulating agents) * no other cause of the patient's symptoms and signs is apparent Exclusion Criteria: * persistent hypotension during hospitalization or excessive risk of hypotension from the study diet as judged by the investigators or systolic BP \<110 on discharge * use of inotropic therapy at hospital discharge, * severe valvular heart disease as the primary etiology of the patient's HF syndrome * uncontrolled hypertension defined as the following criteria for the last 24 hours prior to discharge (systolic BP \>180 mmHg or diastolic BP \>100 mmHg) * having two or more results of a serum potassium \>5.0 mmol/L during hospitalization or history of serum potassium \>6.0 mmol/L, and/or at an excessive risk of hyperkalemia as judged by the investigators * severe renal insufficiency (estimated glomerular filtration rate \<30 ml/min/1.73m\^2 at discharge) * severe anemia (hemoglobin \< 9 gm/dl) * length of stay \<48 hours or \>14 days * co-morbidity with expected survival \< 12 months * active alcohol or substance abuse * history of persistent noncompliance with treatment recommendations as judged by the investigators