OBJECTIVES: We characterize healthcare utilization among congestive heart failure (CHF) patients in Israel who survived at least a year after diagnosis. METHODS: Adult members of a health maintenance organization in Israel (Maccabi Healthcare Services, MHS) who were diagnosed with CHF between January 2006 and December 2012 were assessed.  MHS databases are derived from electronic medical records of longitudinal data from a stable population of over 2 million and provide comprehensive clinical, demographic and health service data. RESULTS: Of 7691 eligible patients followed for 3 years after first diagnosis, 6357 (82.6%) survived ≥1year following diagnosis (mean age 72.7 years (SD 12.3 years)). During the first 6 months following diagnosis, these patients had, on average, 11.3 (SD 7.7), 2.8 (SD 3.0) and 0.11 (SD 0.5) visits to their primary care physician, cardiologist, and nephrologist, respectively, and almost 70% had ≥1 hospital admission. Healthcare services use decreased after the first 6 months. Men were on average younger than women (70.2 vs. 76.0 years), had higher rates of cardiovascular comorbidity and saw a cardiologist more often (p<0.001) than women. More women had hypertension and chronic kidney disease but saw a nephrologist less often (p<0.001) than men. In the first 6 months following diagnosis, women were hospitalized for longer periods than men (10.2 (SD 19.8) vs. 9.0 (SD 18.9) mean cumulative days of hospitalization, respectively). Similar trends were observed in primary care physician and hospital visits between genders. Patients surviving <1 year from diagnosis tended to use outpatient services less often and inpatient services more often than ≥1 year survivors. CONCLUSIONS: Considerable resources are expended on CHF patients, with variations between male and female patients. Observations underscore the considerable healthcare burden of CHF patients, apparent even in this Israeli population, among the youngest societies in the developed world. Further efforts are required to reduce the substantial CHF burden.