Articles related to HEART FAILURE (HF)

Key practice-changing points from the latest guidelines: • 1st line therapy is sacubitril plus valsartan, as this combination increases survival and reduces hospitalizations versus ACE inhibitors and ARBs.• ACE inhibitors should be used only in patients who cannot tolerate sacubitril-valsartan, and ARBs used only in those who cannot tolerate either the 1st- or 2nd-line recommended therapies.• Patients whose ejection fraction increases to more than 40% under therapy should continue to receive therapy.

Social isolation and loneliness were linked to a 17% to 19% increased risk of developing incipient heart failure, respectively. The analysis included 464,773 participants from the U.K. Biobank, followed for a median of 12.3 years.

In this commentary, the editor-in-chief of CCJM considers what is known, and what is still mystery about how the heart and kidneys are modified during chronic heart failure, and discusses how much of our therapy remains empiric and experience-based.

Seven-hundred patients with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of 35% or less, extensive coronary artery disease amenable to PCI, and demonstrable myocardial viability were randomly assigned to PCI plus optimal medical therapy vs. optimal medical therapy alone. At 6 months, the LVEF was similar between the two groups.

The IV-equivalent formulation is indicated for the treatment of congestion due to fluid overload in people with NYHA class II/III chronic heart failure and may offer a substantial change in the management of the condition.

Palliative care (PC) can help reduce emergency department use, hospitalizations, and symptom burden across a spectrum of diseases. To assist clinicians in keeping their expertise current, the authors reviewed and summarized the top PC articles of 2020. The analysis included 28 PC intervention trials for heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and dementia.