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).

2 out of 5 AFib patients develop heart failure later in life
Stroke is typically seen as the biggest danger for patients after they receive an AFib diagnosis. This study, however, suggests heart failure could be an even bigger threat.
FDA announces new recall of Abbott’s HeartMate LVADs after 14 deaths
The issue at the center of this recall, which includes both the HeartMate II and HeartMate 3 LVAD, is the gradual buildup of biological materials. This can impact the device's performance, creating a heightened risk of injury or death.
Inter-atrial shunt in RELIEVE-HF improves symptoms in HFrEF, but not HFpEF
Gregg Stone, MD, explains the details of the late-breaking RELIEVE-HF trial at ACC.24, where an inter-atrial shunt improved symptoms in HFrEF, but not in HFpEF patients.
Critics call out ‘woefully inadequate’ CMS proposal for inpatient Medicare payments
CMS has issued its proposed rule for the 2025 Medicare hospital inpatient prospective payment system, suggesting a payment increase of 2.6%. According to the American Hospital Association, this update would not be enough at a time when hospitals are already struggling to stay open.
Weight loss drug semaglutide benefits obese patients presenting with HFpEF, type 2 diabetes
The new research, based on data from more than 600 patients, was presented at ACC.24 in Atlanta and published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Semaglutide is sold by Novo Nordisk under the brand name Wegovy.

Cardiologist receives $7M for 5-year study to boost care for heart failure patients

The research will focus on ways to improve the utilization of electronic resources among heart failure patients and the doctors who treat them.

November 29, 2023

cannabis use disorder marijuana joint weed smoking

Daily marijuana use increases heart failure risk by 34%

“Marijuana use isn’t without its health concerns, and our study provides more data linking its use to cardiovascular conditions," one researcher said.

November 16, 2023

A closer look at how weight loss drug semaglutide improves the cardiovascular health of obese patients without diabetes

Novo Nordisk shared initial results from the SELECT trial back in August, but now the full analysis—which includes data from more than 17,000 patients—has been published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

November 14, 2023

AI cardiology heart artificial intelligence deep learning

The future of cardiology: 5 potentially game-changing AI studies from AHA 2023

AI was one of the biggest stories at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2023 conference in Philadelphia. Researchers presented new data about heart attack care, voice recognition algorithms, digital stethoscopes and more.

November 13, 2023

Ultromics EchoGo AI platform. When the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized the 2024 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System final rule, it included an updated reimbursement for the EchoGo Heart Failure platform from Ultromics. EchoGo Heart Failure is now associated with an ambulatory payment classification (APC) code of APC 5743 and a payment rate of $284.88.

CMS increases reimbursement for AI-powered heart failure platform

Ultromics thinks the significant payment increase will help ramp up utilization among U.S. healthcare providers.

November 8, 2023

Barostim Neo 2 CVRx heart failure nerve stimulator on display at HRS 2023. Photo by Dave Fornell

CMS increases reimbursement for CVRx’s implantable Barostim device for heart failure

Implanting the Barostim device is now associated with an average payment amount of $45,000, up significantly from the previous average of $29,000.

November 3, 2023

Example of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) shown as part of the multimodality imaging capability on the Fujifilm CVIS.

IVUS-guided PCI boosts 2-year survival, reduces need for bypass surgery

IVUS was especially effective when treating patients with a complex coronary anatomy, researchers found.

November 2, 2023

Lawrence Faucette, the pig heart transplant patient who died after six weeks.

Second patient in history to receive a pig heart transplant dies after 6 weeks

Lawrence Faucette, the second patient to ever receive a genetically modified pig heart, died on Oct. 30. “He can never be forgotten," his wife said in a statement.

November 1, 2023

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Heart Failure

2 out of 5 AFib patients develop heart failure later in life

FDA announces new recall of Abbott’s HeartMate LVADs after 14 deaths

Inter-atrial shunt in RELIEVE-HF improves symptoms in HFrEF, but not HFpEF

Critics call out ‘woefully inadequate’ CMS proposal for inpatient Medicare payments

Weight loss drug semaglutide benefits obese patients presenting with HFpEF, type 2 diabetes

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