Despite decreases in heart failure (HF) incidence and mortality rates in ambulatory patients, mortality remains higher for women, according to a new study published July 16 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Stem cells can be used to “encourage” better function in heart failure (HF) patients in the U.K., according to a recent stem cell therapy trial spearheaded by researchers from the University of Edinburgh. Harvested from bone marrow, the stem cells, which were able to generate new cardiac tissue and blood vessels, had a success rate of 80 percent.

Despite guidelines and quality improvement efforts, many people with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) aren’t prescribed the recommended medications. And among those who are, fewer than one-fourth receive optimal doses, according to a registry analysis of ambulatory patients.

A new study, published July 11 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, suggests heart failure (HF) may be moderately hereditary.

The FDA has cleared a less-invasive implant approach for Medtronic’s HeartWare HVAD system, allowing the left ventricular assist device (LVAD) to be placed through a small incision between the ribs. It is the first LVAD approved in the U.S. to be inserted with this technique, according to Medtronic.

New research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests an association between black postmenopausal women who are carriers of apolipoprotein L1 (APOL1) genotypes and hospitalizations for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). The findings, however, do not support an association between APOL1 genotypes and coronary heart disease, stroke or mortality.

Human stem cells helped restore left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in monkeys induced with experimental heart failure, giving scientists hope a similar treatment could work in humans following myocardial infarction.

The thinking behind the Seattle Proportional Risk Model goes like this: As the annual risk for all-cause mortality increases, the likelihood that the death will be sudden—or something an ICD could prevent—goes down.