Compared with soluble Fas molecule (sFas, an inhibitor of Fas-mediated apoptosis) in normal volunteers, the serum level of sFas significantly increased by 41% in New York Heart Association (NYHA) class III (p < 0.05) and by 97% in NYHA class IV patients with congestive heart failure (p < 0.001). Furthermore, sFas showed correlations with soluble forms of TNF receptor-p55 (RI) and -p75 (RII) (r = 0.68 and r = 0.56) which inhibit activities of TNF alpha.