Heart Failure Guidelines Are Updated by ESC

The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and the Heart Failure Association (HFA) have updated their guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic heart failure.

The guidelines are an update to the ESC’s 2016 recommendations and now include distinct recommendations for each phenotype of heart failure.

Among the new recommendations are:

• Treatment with a focus on mortality and morbidity for heart failure with mildly reduced ejection fraction
• New classification for acute heart failure, including 4 major clinical presentations
• New medication regimens and treatments for diabetes, obesity, and other noncardiovascular comorbidities
• New considerations such as genetic testing and treatments for cardiomyopathies
• New key quality indicators to measure the use of these guidelines by health care professionals

“The aim of this ESC Guideline is to help health professionals manage people with heart failure (HF) according to the best available evidence,” the authors concluded. “Fortunately, we now have a wealth of clinical trials to help us select the best management to improve the outcomes for people with HF; for many, it is now both preventable and treatable. This guideline provides practical, evidence-based recommendations.”

—Leigh Precopio

Reference:

McDonagh TA, Metra M, Adamo M, et al. 2021 ESC guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic heart failure: developed by the task force for the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic heart failure of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) with the special contribution of the Heart Failure Association (HFA) of the ESC. Eur Heart J. 2021;42(36);3599-3726. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehab368