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).

Specialists explore relationship between COVID-19 and heart failure, highlighting importance of vaccination

"The rise of the delta variant of COVID-19 is a reminder that this pandemic is not over," the president of the Heart Failure Society of America said in a statement. 

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Making progress: Heart tissue developed in a laboratory shows promise

These findings, one specialist said, could provide a significant piece to "the puzzle of heart development."

Risk of heart damage higher after COVID-19 than vaccination

The new analysis, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, included data from more than 2.1 million patients.

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FDA-approved antiplatelet medication may be an effective heart failure treatment

Additional research is still needed, but researchers may have uncovered a new treatment for heart failure.

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LVAD therapy benefits older heart failure patients—but remains underutilized

The new analysis, which included data from more than 24,000 adult patients, was published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 

Empagliflozin gains FDA approval as treatment for adult HFrEF patients

The FDA’s decision was based largely on results from a clinical trial that included more than 3,700 heart failure patients with a left ventricular ejection fraction of 40% or less.

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16% of heart failure patients delay or skip treatment—many for financial reasons

A majority of patients delaying care came from a low-income household.

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TMVR outcomes suffer when patients have heart failure and diabetes—but benefits remain

Overall, the authors emphasized, TMVR helped heart failure patients with and without diabetes.