Patients treated with the HeartMate II left ventricular assist device (LVAD) may be at higher risk for device thrombosis, based on the findings of a study published online Nov. 27 in the New England Journal of Medicine. Researchers found an increase in the number of thromboses compared with the results of pre-approval clinical trials. 

Patients with acute heart failure and kidney impairment do not benefit from either low-dose dopamine or low-dose nesiritide, according to a study published online Nov. 18 in JAMA and presented simultaneously at the American Heart Association’s scientific session in Dallas.

Senior nurse for speciality medicine Audrey Kirby was named Nurse Leader of the Year and the heart failure team came home with the Cardiovascular Service Award.

Digoxin has long been a mainstay in the treatment of systolic heart failure (HF). Recently, however, some studies have called its safety into question after finding the use of the drug in contemporary practice was associated with higher mortality rates.

There are numerous medication therapy strategies along the continuum of managing heart failure (HF), and the authors of a review article published online Oct. 10 in The American Journal of Pharmacy Benefits argued that these various medication therapies need to be coordinated in a way that allows for continuity of care through each stage of treatment.

Not all cardiologists treat patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction according to established guidelines, and these variations in care are largely due to practice-level factors, according to a study published online Oct. 15 in Circulation: Heart Failure.

Survivors of childhood cancer are living longer, but over time the cardiotoxicity of some chemotherapies and radiation therapy may be taking a toll on their hearts. The American Heart Association published a scientific statement online Sept. 30 in Circulation that reviewed the evidence of cardiotoxicity in childhood survivors and highlighted future directions.

The Healthcare Accreditation Colloquium announced today that Mayo Clinic Children's Center became the first Accredited Pediatric Heart Failure Institute in Minnesota and fourth in the nation after successfully completing a rigorous one year effort focused on the diagnosis and treatment of childhood heart failure within the community, hospital, clinician education and science.