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).

Transcatheter heart failure implant from Ancora Heart linked to positive 2-year data
The flexible device is attached to the inner wall of the left ventricle during a minimally invasive procedure. It was designed to reduce the size of the left ventricle over time.
Hospital in Mexico earns first heart failure certification of its kind
A facility outside the United States has received the American Heart Association's Comprehensive Heart Failure Center Certification for the first time.
FDA announces recall for Johnson & Johnson devices due to cybersecurity risk—customers urged to act
The FDA and Johnson & Johnson MedTech are telling customers to keep the devices in a secure environment until they can be disabled from all networks.
New expert guidelines examine the use of temporary MCS during heart surgery
Three leading medical societies collaborated on the new document, providing detailed recommendations that cover a wide variety of technologies and clinical scenarios.
FDA approves subcutaneous diuretic treatment for heart failure-related edema
The newly approved drug-device combination helps patients manage their own treatment from the comfort of home.

APOL1 genotypes, CVD not linked in postmenopausal black women

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 reverse heart failure in monkeys

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.

Tool predicts which patients gain the most from ICDs

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.

St. Luke’s in Houston to lose Medicare funding for heart transplant program

Just a week after Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center in Houston reopened its heart transplant program, CMS sent a letter to the hospital saying it will cut off funding for the program beginning Aug. 17.

Cardiac resynching unnecessary after LVAD placement, study suggests

Continuing cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) appeared to offer no benefit to patients who received a continuous flow left ventricular assist device (CF-LVAD), according to a multicenter study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Differences in hospitals' short-term heart failure mortality persist to 5 years

Heart failure patients treated at hospitals with lower 30-day mortality rates also enjoy a survival benefit one, three and even five years later, suggesting a short-term risk-standardized mortality rate (RSMR) may deserve additional weight in CMS’s financial incentive programs.

Baylor St. Luke’s reopens heart transplant program after review of patient deaths

Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center in Houston reopened its heart transplant program June 15 after a two-week suspension in which the hospital conducted an internal review of two recent patient deaths.

Stem cell therapy for heart failure may save money, lives

Scientists are researching how to take stem cells from the patient’s blood to repair damage to the heart. A new therapy could reduce the need for operations, the U.K.’s Express newspaper reports, with researchers hoping the therapy could save lives while being cost effective.

Heart Failure

Transcatheter heart failure implant from Ancora Heart linked to positive 2-year data

Hospital in Mexico earns first heart failure certification of its kind

FDA announces recall for Johnson & Johnson devices due to cybersecurity risk—customers urged to act

New expert guidelines examine the use of temporary MCS during heart surgery

FDA approves subcutaneous diuretic treatment for heart failure-related edema