The American Heart Association estimates that by 2030 more than 8 million Americans will be diagnosed with chronic heart failure (HF). This condition may lead to kidney failure, liver damage, and other complications. The 2019 American College of Cardiology (ACC) report provides clinical tools to improve the management of HF patients.

Members of the writing committee included Tariq Ahmad, MD, MPH, an assistant professor at the Yale School of Medicine. The experts address key questions and offer management strategies. “With the rapid increases in the number of highly effective therapies for heart failure patients, there has never been a better time to be a specialist in this field. However, these patients are a high risk for adverse outcomes, and it is imperative that frontline clinicians use the best available information to treat them. We wrote these guidelines with this goal in mind.”

The five sections of the document represent the clinical duration of heart failure:

• Admission
• Trajectory
• Check
• Oral Therapies
• Follow up Visit

What’s different about the report

The updated guidelines include findings from the PIONEER-HF trial, a program led by Yale Cardiovascular Medicine Section Chief, Eric Velazquez, MD. The new recommendations support Entresto (sacubitril/valsartan) to manage reduced ejection fraction in HF patients. Several key themes emerged to optimize the care for patients hospitalized for decompensated HF. The authors also recommend a long-term evaluation strategy for HF and caution against overlooking risk factors.

On October 4, 2019, Yale Cardiovascular Medicine will host the 6th Annual Yale Comprehensive Heart Failure Symposium in New Haven, CT. The event will feature discussions about cutting-edge therapies supporting the diagnosis and treatment of heart failure.