Heart Failure

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Institute shared results of 5 recent publications summarizing results from their awardees. The studies included research on a decision aid for patients with heart failure, 2 different approaches to treating mental illness, and addressing chronic pain.

CVD-REAL, the giant study of real-world evidence comparing sodium glucose co-transporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors with other glucose-lowering drugs to treat type 2 diabetes, found a 49% lower risk of all-cause death and a host of other benefits across 6 new, more diverse countries, the study’s lead author told a packed room Sunday at the 67th Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology in Orlando, Florida.

Healthcare reform pledged to do better for patients with heart failure, creating the incentives and team-based approaches these fragile patients need. In some cases, this has happened, but there have also been unintended consequences, according to a panel appearing Sunday at the 67th Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology, being held in Orlando, Florida.

Patients who had breast cancer or lymphoma who were treated more than 3 times are more likely to develop congestive heart failure than those who did not have cancer, according to research being presented at the American College of Cardiology’s 67th Annual Scientific Session.

A recently published study in JAMA Internal Medicine sought to determine whether a symptom and psychosocial collaborative care intervention improves heart failure–specific health status, depression, and symptom burden in patients with heart failure.

A study being presented at the upcoming meeting of the American College of Cardiology found a dose–response relationship between walking and reduced heart failure risk.

In the next phase of the program, researchers will dig into the data they have gathered so far to identify the best practices for reducing 30- and 90-day readmission rates.

A recent study appearing in the American Heart Association journal Circulation, found that looking at how well hospitals adhere to treatment guidelines for heart failure is more important than comparing patient volumes at hospitals.

Higher resting heart rate (HR) and increases in HR over time are associated with increased risk of adverse cardiovascular (CV) and non-CV events, such as incident heart failure and all-cause mortality, according to a study published in JAMA Cardiology.

The annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology (ACC), which runs March 10-12, 2018, in Orlando, Florida, will open with cardiovascular outcomes results for the PCSK9 inhibitor alirocumab (Praluent). The meeting also features updates on anti-inflammatory drugs, the use of SGLT2 inhibitors in heart failure, and how cardiology is shifting to new healthcare delivery models.

Biomarkers of renal dysfunction, endothelial dysfunction, and inflammation were associated with incident heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. By contrast, only natriuretic peptides and urinary albumin to creatinine ratio were associated with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), a finding that highlights the need for future studies focused on identifying novel biomarkers of the risk of HFpEF, according to a study in JAMA Cardiology.

Reimbursement structures and population demographics change the way hospitals approach heart failure, explained Amar Bhakta, MD, of Rush University Medical Center.

An interview with one of the authors of a large observational study that has seen findings consistent with recent cardiovascular outcomes trials in SGLT2 inhibitors.

A new pathway uses a multidisciplinary team to help reduce 30-day heart failure readmissions, explained Amar Bhakta, MD, of Rush University Medical Center.

The payment reform movement has changed the thinking about what can be done for patients with diabetes and heart failure, for the good of patients.

The first major update since 2003 was announced this week during the 2017 American Heart Association Scientific Sessions.

Reimbursement policy has been a driver of change in the way hospitals handle heart failure patients.

During a session at the 2017 American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting in San Diego, California, a cardiologist joined rheumatologists to give a detailed look at the relationship between rheumatic conditions and cardiovascular disease.

While current, prior, and change in the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire score were all significnatly associated with lower risk of mortality and heart failure hospitalization in isolation, when the current score was included with either prior or change score, only the current score was significantly associated with lower risk for all-cause mortality.

Transitional care interventions are considered evidence-based, designed to ensure coordination and continuity of care when patients are transferred to different levels of care, and to prevent hospital readmissions of heart failure patients.

Patients with heart failure tend to have other health issues, requiring cardiologists to understand how to care for heart failure while keeping in mind treatment for these other comorbidities, said panelists at the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2017, held August 26-30 in Barcelona, Spain.

The connection between diabetes and cardiovascular disease is well-known, but a new study gets at the mechanism of how this occurs.

Hospital 30-day readmission rates associated with the Affordable Care Act for heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, and pneumonia are weakly but significantly correlated with reductions in hospital 30-day mortality rates after discharge, according to a new study.

Researchers at the Medical College of Georgia show how age causes a protection against inflammation to decline.

The findings demonstrate why quality ratings focus heavily on managing diabetes and targeting 30-day readmission rates.