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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Heart Failure Management Hinges on Care Collaboration

With increasing numbers of Americans affected by heart failure, the healthcare systems mantra for care is teamwork.

NEJM: ICD does not improve death risk after heart attack

Prophylactic implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) therapy did not reduce overall mortality among patients with acute MI and clinical features that placed them at increased risk, according to the randomized, prospective IRIS trial published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

AJC: Abdominal obesity linked with heart failure hospitalization, CV events

Abdominal obesity is an independent predictor of heart failure hospitalization and recurrent cardiovascular events in patients with stable coronary heart disease, according to the prospective cohort Heart and Soul Study published Oct. 1 in the American Journal of Cardiology.

JACC: Only half of eligible patients getting mitral valve surgery

Overblown fears about surgical risk and lack of awareness about the risk of not operating are among the reasons only half of eligible patients were referred for mitral valve repair, according to a study in the Aug. 25 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

HFSA: High-volume hospitals have better outcomes, mortality for heart failure

BOSTONLarge volume hospitals had better aggregate performance measures for acute decompensated heart failure, according to a poster presentation on Monday at the 13th annual meeting of the Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA).

HFSA: Difficulty breathing is worst symptom for in-hospital HF patients

BOSTONDifficulty breathing or fatigue were defined as the worst symptoms for 84 percent of hospitalized heart failure patients with objective evidence of congestion, according to a scientific poster presentation on Monday at the 13th annual meeting of the Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA).

ESC: Rolofylline shows no improvement over placebo, more adverse events

Despite the promising findings of the PROTECT Pilot study, the larger PROTECT trial found no difference with Mercks experimental selective adenosine A1 antagonist, rolofylline, versus placebo in heart failure patients with respect to the primary and main secondary end points of the study, according to findings presented Tuesday at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

NIH issues nearly $3M for artificial heart research

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has issued a $2.8 million grant to develop a pulse-less total artificial heart using two MicroMed Cardiovascular ventricular assist devices initially created by Michael DeBakey , MD, and George Noon, MD. The grant represents a renewal for a second year of research.

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