Optimized treatment can reduce the mortality risk for chronic heart failure (HF) by as much as 60%. The role of appropriate drug combinations and rapid diagnosis was discussed at the 91st Annual German Society of Cardiovascular Medicine Annual Conference.

“It is important to start drug treatment for HF immediately after diagnosis, in parallel with investigating the underlying causes, as the benefits of treatment appear very quickly,” said Birgit Assmus, MD, cardiologist and head of the Heart Failure Department of the University Hospital of Giessen and Marburg, Marburg, Germany.

For HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) and a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≤ 40%, as well as for HF with moderately reduced ejection fraction (LVEF between 41% and 49%), the 2021 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) guidelines recommend a quadruple combination of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors or angiotensin receptor/neprilysin inhibitors (ARNI), beta-blockers, mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (MRAs), and sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors.

A loop diuretic is added in cases of fluid retention. Studies such as PARADIGM-HF (sacubitril and valsartan/enalapril) and dapagliflozin in HF have demonstrated significant reductions in cardiovascular mortality and hospitalization within 30 and 27 days, respectively.

Rapid diagnosis is essential for timely treatment; however, delayed diagnosis remains a significant barrier.

Source: MEDspace