Heart Failure

Heart failure occurs when the heart cannot pump as much blood as the body requires. This ineffective pumping can lead to enlargement of the heart as the myocardium works harder pump the same amount of blood. Heart failure may be caused by defects in the myocardium, such as an a heart attack infarct, or due to structural issues such as severe heart valve regurgitation. Heart failure can be divided into HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), and HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). The disease is further divided into four New York Heart Association (NYHA) classes. Stage IV heart failure is when the heart is completely failing and requires a heart transplant or hemodynamic support from a left ventricular assist device (LVAD).

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St. Jude Medical to acquire Thoratec for $3.4 billion in cash

St. Jude Medical agreed to acquire Thoratec for approximately $3.4 billion to expand its heart failure business. When the deal is finalized, Thoratec shareholders will receive $63.50 per share in cash, a 10 percent increase over Thoratec’s closing price the day before the announcement.

Intervention improves survival following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest

A statewide intervention in North Carolina improved survival and led to an increased number of people receiving bystander and first-responder-initiated CPR and defibrillation following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. The efforts were enacted after the American Heart Association issued a policy statement in 2010 asking for regional centers to care for patients who suffer from cardiac arrest.

Personalized site feedback does not improve upon 'Get With The Guidelines' results

An intervention designed to improve outcomes in heart failure patients by offering sites feedback on adherence to guidelines did not lead to better quality of care in hospitals, according to a cluster-randomized trial.

FDA approves oral heart failure medication

The FDA approved sacubitril/valsartan, a twice-daily oral medication to treat patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction. The drug (Entresto, Novartis) was reviewed under the FDA’s priority review program and was granted a fast track designation.

PVCs precede heart failure in older adults

Older adults who experienced frequent premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) had an increase in incident heart failure and mortality, according to an analysis of a community-based cohort study published online in the July 14 issue of Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Modifying behaviors can reduce heart failure risk by nearly half

After following older adults for more than 20 years, researchers found that dietary patterns were not as closely associated with developing heart failure as many might guess. However, patients had a lower risk for heart failure if they were physically active, had modest alcohol intake, did not smoke and were not obese.

Poll finds heart failure knowledge is lacking

Although most people are aware of heart failure, they often do not understand the signs and symptoms of the disease, according to an American Heart Association poll released on June 15.

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CRT device with an algorithm reduces 30-day readmissions

Patients using cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) devices equipped with an algorithm were significantly less likely to be readmitted to hospitals within 30 days following discharge for heart failure and all other causes. 

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