The ICD in heart failure - time for a rethink?

No abstract available

Declining risk of sudden death in heart failure

No abstract available

‘Hearts and minds’: association, causation and implication of cognitive impairment in heart failure

The clinical syndrome of heart failure is one of the leading causes of hospitalisation and mortality in older adults. An association between cognitive impairment and heart failure is well described but our understanding of the relationship between the two conditions remains limited. In this review we provide a synthesis of available evidence, focussing on epidemiology, the potential pathogenesis, and treatment implications of cognitive decline in heart failure. Most evidence available relates to heart failure with reduced ejection fraction and the syndromes of chronic cognitive decline or dementia. These conditions are only part of a complex heart failure-cognition paradigm. Associations between cognition and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction and between acute delirium and heart failure also seem evident and where data are available we will discuss these syndromes. Many questions remain unanswered regarding heart failure and cognition. Much of the observational evidence on the association is confounded by study design, comorbidity and insensitive cognitive assessment tools. If a causal link exists, there are several potential pathophysiological explanations. Plausible underlying mechanisms relating to cerebral hypoperfusion or occult cerebrovascular disease have been described and it seems likely that these may coexist and exert synergistic effects. Despite the prevalence of the two conditions, when cognitive impairment coexists with heart failure there is no specific guidance on treatment. Institution of evidence-based heart failure therapies that reduce mortality and hospitalisations seems intuitive and there is no signal that these interventions have an adverse effect on cognition. However, cognitive impairment will present a further barrier to the often complex medication self-management that is required in contemporary heart failure treatment

Angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitors: a new paradigm in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction

Despite significant advances in the last 30 years in reducing morbidity and mortality from heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) with pharmacological and device-based therapies, patients remain at a high risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes. Sacubitril/valsartan, a first-in-class angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitors (ARNI), has been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular death or heart failure hospitalisation and improve symptoms in patients with chronic, ambulatory, symptomatic HFrEF in a large, phase 3, multicentre, international, randomised controlled trial, PARADIGM-HF, when compared to the gold-standard angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor, enalapril. This article will review the development of sacubitril/valsartan, the evidence for its use and its current and future role in the management of HFrEF

Can an implanted minipump deliver for diabetes patients?

The FREEDOM studies evaluated exenatide delivered via an implanted minipump in patients with type 2 diabetes; the final study evaluated cardiovascular outcomes but offers up more questions than answers

Heart failure: epidemiology, pathophysiology, and management of heart failure in diabetes mellitus

This article briefly discusses the epidemiology of heart failure and diabetes and summarizes the key findings from the recent cardiovascular outcome trials in patients with type 2 diabetes, with a focus on heart failure as an endpoint

Obesity a risk factor for severe COVID-19 infection: multiple potential mechanisms

No abstract available