Heart Failure

Patients who developed HF at any time after their diabetes diagnosis had the greatest relative and absolute risk for death at 5 years compared with those with diabetes who had other CV or renal diagnoses, researchers reported.

Among patients with HF, those with frailty were more likely to have longer hospital stays, to die in-hospital and to incur larger medical costs than nonfrail patients, researchers reported.

Patients who underwent heart transplant with or without bridge to transplant left ventricular assist device therapy had superior 5-year survival vs. those with LVAD destination therapy when matched on several clinical factors, a study found.

Adults with type 2 diabetes and established atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease were no more likely to experience a CV event during 3.5 years of follow-up with the SGLT2 inhibitor ertugliflozin compared with placebo, study data show.

Vericiguat (Merck/Bayer) vs. placebo for prevention of CV death or HF hospitalization in patients with HFrEF.

Obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA, is a dangerous, chronic disease that involves the repeated collapse of the upper airway during sleep. A report commissioned by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine estimates that OSA affects nearly 30 million American adults, with an estimated 23.5 million of them currently undiagnosed. Untreated OSA has been linked to an increased risk for numerous health problems, and it is extremely common in people who have CVD.

Women who had a history of cardiac dysfunction related to cancer therapeutics had a 47.4-fold increased risk for HF or left ventricular dysfunction during pregnancy or within 12 months after delivery, according to a systematic review.

Adults with heart failure assigned the SGLT2 inhibitor dapagliflozin had a 32% lower risk for new-onset type 2 diabetes over 18 months of follow-up vs. placebo, according to a planned analysis of DAPA-HF trial data.

Treatment with hydroxychloroquine was not associated with heart failure in patients with rheumatoid arthritis in a recent study; however, more research is needed regarding higher doses, according to a presenter at the EULAR 2020 E-Congress.

Results from a trial published in JAMA demonstrated that medication reduction is feasible in older patients receiving multiple hypertensive treatments for BP control. This was the top story in cardiology last week.