Cardiovascular Disease Update: Heart Failure Update

Heart failure (HF) is a clinical condition characterized by the heart's inability to pump blood effectively enough to meet the body's metabolic demands; typically this happens because of impaired ventricular filling or ejection. HF affects millions of people in the United States, with increasing prevalence, hospitalizations, and deaths. Classification of HF by left ventricular ejection fraction divides it into HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), mildly reduced ejection fraction, and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Early diagnosis and appropriate staging, using tools such as natriuretic peptides and echocardiography, are essential for identifying HF and implementing effective treatment. In patients with HFrEF, guideline-directed medical therapy, comprising renin-angiotensin system inhibitors, beta blockers, mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists, and sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors, has demonstrated reductions in morbidity, mortality, and hospitalizations. Management of comorbidities such as the use of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists for obesity in patients with HFpEF has improved outcomes. Advanced therapies, cardiac rehabilitation, and supportive interventions, including vaccinations and mental health screening, contribute to improved patient quality of life. Focusing on pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic strategies is essential to reduce HF progression, minimize hospitalizations, and improve overall survival.