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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How advanced HF patients and their caregivers can ensure a favorable QoL

The nature of caregiving means the caregiver-patient relationship is always changing, but continued support from a network of experts and dedication to mutuality and preparedness can ensure both patients and caregivers have a good quality of life (QoL), according to a study published Jan. 14 in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.

FDA fast-tracks review process for cardiac amyloidosis drug

Tafamidis, Pfizer’s treatment for transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM), has been granted a priority review designation from the FDA, potentially speeding its path to approval.

Study: 4% of childhood cancer survivors develop heart failure within 40 years

Although childhood cancer survival has improved markedly over the past few decades, a new study out of the Netherlands suggests a greater proportion of those survivors are at risk of developing heart failure at young ages, due in part to cardiotoxic treatments.

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Psychosocial evaluation predicts readmission risk for LVAD patients

A tool designed to assess the psychosocial status of heart transplant candidates may also be able to predict which left ventricular assist device (LVAD) recipients are at the highest risk of being readmitted to the hospital, Cleveland Clinic researchers reported Jan. 9 in Circulation: Heart Failure.

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Women with HFrEF live longer but suffer more

Women with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) live longer than their male counterparts, but those additional years are plagued by a lower quality of life—including greater levels of self-reported anxiety, depression and physical disability—according to an analysis in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

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AI-based EKG processing predicts early left ventricular dysfunction

AI applied to an electrocardiogram (EKG) test reliably detected asymptomatic left ventricular dysfunction (ALVD)—a precursor to heart failure—and predicted which patients were most at risk of developing the condition in the future, according to a Mayo Clinic study published in Nature Medicine.

Cotton vest aims to predict, prevent MI in CHF patients

A French health tech company debuted its Chronolife vest—a cotton- and lycra-based wearable aimed at preventing medical emergencies in patients with chronic or congestive heart failure (CHF)—at CES 2019 in Las Vegas on Jan. 6, CNET reported.

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Back-to-back triple transplant recipients spark friendship at Chicago hospital

University of Chicago Medicine physicians performed the 16th and 17th triple transplant surgeries in the United States within 30 hours of each other in late December, giving two different patients a healthy heart, kidney and liver all at once.