Heart Failure

A presentation at the 2016 Heart Failure Society of America Scientific Meeting provided details on serelaxin, ularitide, and other new therapies for heart failure.

Pieter Muntendam, MD, scPharmaceuticals, and colleagues hoped their productive can help reduce patients' length of stay in the hospital.

At the Heart Failure Society of America's 20th Annual Scientific Meeting, Pieter Muntendam, MD, scPharmaceuticals, discussed his work in developing a hospital strength treatment option for patients with fluid overload using the well known drug furosemide, now for subcutaneous administration.

According to Joseph Rogers, MD, Duke University, the HFSA has grown positively over the years to become a platform showcasing high level science, as evidenced through the late breakers that were presented.

Researchers reported black patients enrolled in the PARADIGM-HF study had more favorable prognostic baseline characteristics than white patients in the study. However, black patients exhibited a higher risk for cardiovascular death and hospitalizations.

Subcutaneously administered furosemide yields nearly identical outcomes compared with the traditional intravenous method of delivery, but is more convenient and well tolerated.

Study results presented at the 2016 Heart Failure Society of America Scientific Meeting show that treatment with omecantiv mecarbil improved cardiac function and quality of life in patients with heart failure.

With many new drug discoveries and medical devices int he field of advanced heart failure, Larry Allen, MD, MHS and his team are working to create patient decision support tools to help them navigate any challenges.

From the ventricular assist device and beyond the treatment of heart failure has made a considerable number of advancements. Even small steps like longer battery life and smaller devices can make a big difference in a patient's daily life going

As medications on the market get new indications and surgical procedures get further developed patients diagnosed with heart failure will continue to see better results in care and treatment.

Patients diagnosed with heart failure are living longer and with a higher quality of life than ever before. These advancements have come as a result of a considerable amount of work with much more work to be done going forward.

There is a known connection between atrial fibrillation and stroke risk. Finding the best way to handle this connection can determine the success of care and the quality of life for patients.

The European Society of Cardiology's ESC Congress 2016 in Rome, Italy was huge, hot, and full of drama. Will any of the thousands of research reports delivered change practice?

There are many factors which can contribute to a patient developing Alzheimer's which goes beyond proteins which may be found in the brain.

About a quarter of patients who survived heart attacks due to blocked arteries could be treated with drugs, not invasive procedures. The trick is determining whether the blockage is cause by plaque erosion, not plaque rupture. With optical coherence tomography a team in Boston did just that.

Drug-eluting stents are falling far short of their promises of fewer complications, improved mortality and quality of life, a study found. In the largest study ever done comparing newer drug-eluting stents to bare metal devices, Norwegian researchers found the drug stents did not show a difference in these outcomes.

Should cardiac rehab be standard for patients who've had a heart attack. If so, how long should it last? A Dutch study found a year was about right.

Simple preventive measures like reducing cholesterol and blood pressure should cut the risk of heart disease deaths and hospitalizations by up to 90%, an analysis found.

Implantable cardioverter-defibrillators are not for all heart failure patients, the DANISH study found.

Remote monitoring of heart patients who have implanted heart devices does not appear to help them live longer, a UK study called REM-HF found.

Statins should not be physicians' first option in treating all patients at high risk of cardiovascular disease, according to new European treatment guidelines.

Percutaneous balloon mitral valvulopasty (PMV) has now been around long enough for long term outcomes to be assessed. The verdict is positive.

In the ongoing search for subclinical markers of heart disease, Taiwan researchers found that the diameter of the aortic root is a useful predictor.

Heart failure patients with reduced ejection fraction do better with cardiac interventions, particularly CABG, a meta-analysis of 20 studies found.

Pope Francis plans to appear at the ESC Congress 2016 to endorse the group's healthy lifestyle campaign.

The development of new novel oral anticoagulants has made a definite impact in the field in a short period of time. Work is being done to bring reversal agents into the field which can work with these new medications.

Since the days when Warfarin was the lone option in anticoagulants a considerable amount of research has been conducted leading to the development of new novel oral anticoagulants.

In the United States the availability of the latest technology can vary depending on geographic locations in some cases. This can be a greater problem for service members stationed around the world.

Cardiac CT scans can be important in diagnosing various conditions but may not be appropriate for all cardiologists to perform. As a result, with specialized training the results can be dramatically improved to help both civilian and military patients.

At Walter Reed National Military Medical Center there is an extra focus in ensuring tests are accurate for service members either before deploying or when they return home. As a result they have made a concerted effort to improve several tests including cardiac CT.