Following a heart attack, many heart failure patients suffer from enlargement of their left ventricle, diminishing the amount of blood the heart can pump to the body and resulting in life-threatening left-sided heart failure symptoms such as shortness of breath, decreased urine production, fatigue, and irregular or rapid heartbeat. Treatment options for patients whose left ventricle has enlarged have been limited, until now. Through a percutaneous (needle-puncture of the skin) procedure now available through a clinical trial at PinnacleHealth CardioVascular Institute the first minimally invasive catheter-based device aims to restore normal geometry and function in the damaged muscle (left ventricle). The device is called Parachute and is created by CardioKinetix in California.

In diabetic patients with heart failure (HF), sitagliptin use was found to have lower mortality rates but more subsequent HF hospitalizations than other therapies. Researchers noted there was no increased risk of all-cause hospitalizations, however.

Thoratec, which makes implantable devices for patients with advanced heart failure, paid $35 million to acquire an Irish company that specializes in transapical surgical access systems.

Managing heart failure (HF) presents daily challenges for many patients. Reasons range from a lack of understanding about treatments to the inability to care for themselves due to symptoms.

Diabetes and heart failure have a very complex relationship. Having one puts a patient at risk for the other and once a patient has both, his or her condition may spiral quickly in a downward trajectory. In a viewpoint published June 18 in JAMA, physicians discussed concerns and the current state of therapies focused on caring for both diseases.

Women with QRS of 130 milliseconds or greater see better outcomes than men when using cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). A study published online June 23 in JAMA Internal Medicine found that while women receive CRT defibrillation (CRT-D) less often than men, women with left bundle branch block and a QRS of 130 to 149 milliseconds had a 76 percent reduction in mortality and other heart failure-related events.

Privately-held ReliantHeart, a leading innovator in mechanical circulatory support therapies, today announced the first advanced stage heart failure patient received its next generation HeartAssist5 Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) since the company earned CE Mark approval for design enhancements just weeks ago.  Cardiologists at the Deutsches Herzzentrum Berlin (DHZB - German Heart Institute) in Germany performed the life-saving procedure.

Use of home visits and multidisciplinary clinics helped to reduce all-cause readmissions and death up to six months after an index hospitalization for patients with heart failure, while telephone-based interventions also showed some success, according to a review of transitional care trials. But none seemed to lower 30-day readmission rates.