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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HeartMate 3 heart pump gets FDA approval as destination therapy

The HeartMate 3 left ventricular assist device (LVAD) has gained FDA approval for advanced heart failure patients ineligible for a transplant, manufacturer Abbott announced Oct. 19.

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Why Cleveland Clinic began screening carpal tunnel patients for cardiac amyloidosis

Cleveland Clinic researchers identified amyloid deposits in 10.2 percent of patients undergoing carpal tunnel release surgery, suggesting biopsies of hand tissue could be an early signal of life-threatening cardiac amyloidosis.

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Prior cardiotoxicity linked to 30% increased risk of CHF during pregnancy

Women with a history of cardiotoxicity from previous cancer treatments are around 30 percent more likely to experience clinical congestive heart failure (CHF) before, during or after pregnancy, according to research published ahead of print in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

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Researchers develop 1st mini pacemaker capable of long-term mouse studies

Harvard Medical School scientists have created a wirelessly programmed, miniaturized pacemaker which functions for weeks to months at a time, opening the door to “previously impossible investigations of arrhythmia and heart failure in the mouse.”

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Meta-analysis confirms digoxin is major threat to AF, HF patients

Digoxin, a cardiac glycoside popularly sold under the brand name Lanoxin, poses a major threat to the heart health of atrial fibrillation (AF) and heart failure (HF) patients, according to a review published in the American Journal of Cardiology Oct. 4. Even without confounding conditions, the drug can raise an individual’s risk of all-cause mortality.

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Peripartum cardiomyopathy decreases diastolic function, exercise capacity in long run

Women who suffer from peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) will likely be clinically asymptomatic seven years after they give birth, according to research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association Oct. 3—but it’s also likely they’ll develop enduring diastolic dysfunction and reduced exercise capacity in the same window.

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Functional mitral regurgitation helps predict mortality in HF patients after CRT

Heart failure (HF) patients who experience moderate functional mitral regurgitation (FMR) for at least six months after cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) are at an increased risk for death, researchers suggest in a study published this week.

TCT.18: COAPT draws superlatives, raises questions about replicating MitraClip’s benefits

Compared to heart failure patients with severe secondary mitral regurgitation who were treated with guideline-directed medical therapy alone, those randomized to a MitraClip procedure plus optimal medical therapy demonstrated relative reductions of 47 percent for heart failure hospitalizations and 38 percent for mortality at two years of follow-up.