Stavroula A Siopi, Polychronis Antonitsis, Georgios T Karapanagiotidis, Georgios Tagarakis, Christos Voucharas, Kyriakos Anastasiadis
{"title":"Mechanical circulatory support in cardiogenic shock: a contemporary head-to-head comparison.","authors":"Stavroula A Siopi, Polychronis Antonitsis, Georgios T Karapanagiotidis, Georgios Tagarakis, Christos Voucharas, Kyriakos Anastasiadis","doi":"10.1007/s10741-026-10612-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10741-026-10612-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Modern technology has expanded the armamentarium of temporary mechanical circulatory support devices implemented for hemodynamic stabilization of patients in cardiogenic shock. The predominately used ones are intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP), Impella devices, and extracorporeal life support (ECLS) circuits. They are transcutaneous or surgically implanted, utilized for up to 30 days and can either assist or totally replace cardiac function, providing time for myocardial healing (bridge to recovery) or treatment escalation (bridge to destination therapy, bridge to transplantation). In light of the recently published joint consensus of the Perioperative Quality Initiative and Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Cardiac Society on temporary mechanical circulatory support, purpose of the current review is to provide a succinct head-to-head comparison of widely available devices, as well as current escalation, de-escalation and antithrombotic protocols; thus, it proposes immediately translatable device selection and operation algorithms to medical professionals for optimal patient care and effective management of cardiogenic shock.</p>","PeriodicalId":12950,"journal":{"name":"Heart Failure Reviews","volume":"31 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13013270/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147511693","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Eduardo Bello Martins, Vagner Madrini, Paulo Vinicius Ramos Souza, Caio de A M Tavares, Monica T Albuquerque, Karla Espirito Santo, Josephine A Harrington, Mario Enrico Canonico, Abdelghani El Rafei, Marc P Bonaca, Patricia O Guimaraes
{"title":"ANSWER-HF: sacubitril-valsartan reduces NT-proBNP in heart failure due to Chagas cardiomyopathy despite no reverse remodeling.","authors":"Eduardo Bello Martins, Vagner Madrini, Paulo Vinicius Ramos Souza, Caio de A M Tavares, Monica T Albuquerque, Karla Espirito Santo, Josephine A Harrington, Mario Enrico Canonico, Abdelghani El Rafei, Marc P Bonaca, Patricia O Guimaraes","doi":"10.1007/s10741-026-10614-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10741-026-10614-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy (CCC) is one of the leading causes of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) in Latin America, yet robust evidence for optimal medical therapy remains scarce. This mini-review examines the results, strengths and limitations of the ANSWER-HF study, a single-center, double-blind randomized clinical trial comparing sacubitril–valsartan with enalapril in 190 patients with CCC-HFrEF over six months. The primary endpoint was change in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). Secondary endpoints included N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptides, echocardiography and functional parameters, clinical events and safety assessments. No significant differences were observed in LVEF, cardiac remodeling, 6-minute walk distance or clinical outcomes between study groups. However, patients randomized to sacubitril–valsartan achieved a significantly greater reduction in NT-proBNP at 6 months. These findings highlight the biological effect of sacubitril-valsartan in this population but reinforces the need for larger, long-term studies, powered to hard clinical endpoints, to further establish the role of sacubitril-valsartan in CCC.</p>","PeriodicalId":12950,"journal":{"name":"Heart Failure Reviews","volume":"31 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147503698","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Domenico Simone Castiello, Pierangelo Calvelli, Andrea Anniballo, Letizia Rosa Romano, Alberto Polimeni, Antonio Curcio
{"title":"The prognostic impact of beta blockers in ischemic heart failure: time for a paradigm shift?","authors":"Domenico Simone Castiello, Pierangelo Calvelli, Andrea Anniballo, Letizia Rosa Romano, Alberto Polimeni, Antonio Curcio","doi":"10.1007/s10741-026-10615-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10741-026-10615-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Beta-blockers are traditionally considered a cornerstone of the pharmacological therapy in heart failure (HF) post-myocardial infarction (MI) and their use in this setting recognizes a pathophysiological rationale. However, most of evidence supporting their administration in ischemic HF is dated and was conceived before the introduction of modern reperfusion therapies (the so-called “pre-reperfusion era”). The introduction of cutting-edge techniques for revascularization and pharmacological strategies changed the history of MI, reducing mortality and allowing to many patients to overcome the acute event without residual ventricular dysfunction. In the “reperfusion era”, the impact of beta-blocker therapy is different than previously observed and evidence coming from new studies lead to question their role as inevitable drugs after acute events, principally in patients with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction. Consequently, the clinical need of prescribing beta-blockers across the full spectrum of ischemic HF patients has become a debated question. This review aims to retrace the history of beta-blockers in ischemic HF, focusing on recent and ongoing trials, that will offer new and update evidence to guide clinical practice in the next future. Since a “one-size-fits-all” approach cannot be justified, our aim is to propose a tailored approach to each patient’s profile, based on left ventricular ejection fraction, comorbidities, arrhythmic burden and quality of life. Furthermore, we propose an algorithm to guide the therapeutic decision of begin, withhold or withdrawn therapy with beta-blockers from the MI onset to the chronical phase of ischemic HF.</p>","PeriodicalId":12950,"journal":{"name":"Heart Failure Reviews","volume":"31 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13005812/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147493368","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Takotsubo syndrome in the setting of cardiac pacing: A review of mechanistic and clinical perspectives.","authors":"Kenan Yalta, Ugur Ozkan, Ertan Yetkin","doi":"10.1007/s10741-026-10611-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10741-026-10611-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Takotsubo syndrome (TTS) is a reversible form of acute cardiac syndrome usually arising in response to various emotional and physical stressors. TTS due to cardiac pacing has been an uncommon phenomenon mostly attributable to a variety of periprocedural conventional stressors including anxiety, pain and low cardiac output. Interestingly, intraventricular mechanical factors might also play a pivotal role in TTS evolution due to cardiac pacing. Notably, this phenomenon may be potentially underdiagnosed due to a variety of factors including atypical symptoms and masked electrocardiographic (ECG) changes potentially suggesting its higher incidence in clinical practice.The present paper aims to focus on mechanistic and clinical implications of TTS due to cardiac pacing procedures including conventional permanent pacemaker implantation (PPI) and conduction system pacing (CSP) along with a particular emphasis on intraventricular mechanical factors as potential TTS triggers in this context.</p>","PeriodicalId":12950,"journal":{"name":"Heart Failure Reviews","volume":"31 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13002712/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147485755","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ashot Avagimyan, Nana Pogosova, Daniela Cardinale, Federica Fogacci, Zinaida Djndoyan, Lusine Mkrtchyan, Aysa Rezabakhsh, Arrigo Cicero, Andrea Faggiano, Elisa Gherbesi, Stefano Carugo, Marzieh Taheri, Marco Bernardi, Luigi Spadafora, Lorenzo Lo Sasso, Francesco Perone, Davood Shafie, Manfredi Rizzo, Azin Alizadehasl, Rohit Moudgil, Pierre Sabouret, Aaron L Sverdlov, Francesco Prattichizzo, Antonio Ceriello, Giuseppe Biondi-Zoccai, Rosalinda Madonna, Raffaele De Caterina, Riccardo Asteggiano, Nizal Sarrafzadegan
{"title":"Diagnostics in cardio-oncology: a focus on anthracyclines.","authors":"Ashot Avagimyan, Nana Pogosova, Daniela Cardinale, Federica Fogacci, Zinaida Djndoyan, Lusine Mkrtchyan, Aysa Rezabakhsh, Arrigo Cicero, Andrea Faggiano, Elisa Gherbesi, Stefano Carugo, Marzieh Taheri, Marco Bernardi, Luigi Spadafora, Lorenzo Lo Sasso, Francesco Perone, Davood Shafie, Manfredi Rizzo, Azin Alizadehasl, Rohit Moudgil, Pierre Sabouret, Aaron L Sverdlov, Francesco Prattichizzo, Antonio Ceriello, Giuseppe Biondi-Zoccai, Rosalinda Madonna, Raffaele De Caterina, Riccardo Asteggiano, Nizal Sarrafzadegan","doi":"10.1007/s10741-026-10604-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10741-026-10604-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cardiovascular diseases and cancer are the primary causes of morbidity and mortality globally and often occur together. The emergence of cardio-oncology as an independent interdisciplinary field of medicine emphasizes the need for enhanced approaches to diagnose cardiovascular complications in patients with cancer. Although anthracyclines, especially doxorubicin (DOX), are effective against many malignancies, their dose-dependent cardiotoxicity necessitates careful cardiovascular monitoring. Cardiovascular imaging plays a key role in the noninvasive assessment of doxorubicin-associated cardiovascular changes complemented by biomarkers and the evaluation of clinical status. Evidence-based selection and interpretation of images can facilitate early detection of cardiovascular damage, potentially affecting therapeutic interventions and enhancing outcomes following cancer treatment. Advances in innovative diagnostic technologies are crucial for improving the early diagnosis, risk assessment, and monitoring of cardiovascular complications in doxorubicin-treated cancer patients. Further research in this area will refine the patient management strategies at the intersection of cardiology and oncology. This article aims to provide an overview of the diagnostic considerations in cardio-oncology, especially DOX-induced cardiovascular toxicity.</p>","PeriodicalId":12950,"journal":{"name":"Heart Failure Reviews","volume":"31 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147485729","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Avishay Grupper, Aaron L Sverdlov, Baljash S Cheema, Amir Nasrollahizadeh, Kaveh Hosseini
{"title":"Evolving strategies in obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: myosin inhibitors as monotherapy compared with beta-blockers.","authors":"Avishay Grupper, Aaron L Sverdlov, Baljash S Cheema, Amir Nasrollahizadeh, Kaveh Hosseini","doi":"10.1007/s10741-026-10603-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10741-026-10603-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (oHCM) is characterized by asymmetric hypertrophy, left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) obstruction, and impaired diastolic function. β-adrenergic blockers (BB) have long been the cornerstone of medical therapy, providing symptomatic improvement but without disease-modifying effects. Cardiac myosin inhibitors (CMIs), including mavacamten and aficamten, represent a new therapeutic class targeting the hypercontractile sarcomere. Randomized trials have demonstrated substantial reductions in LVOT gradients and improvements in exercise capacity, New York Heart Association functional class, and quality of life, with an acceptable safety profile. Subgroup analyses from EXPLORER-HCM and FOREST-HCM suggested that concomitant BB therapy may blunt the exercise capacity benefits of CMIs. The MAPLE-HCM trial provided the first direct head-to-head comparison, showing that aficamten monotherapy was superior to metoprolol in improving peak oxygen uptake, functional status, and hemodynamic parameters. Current evidence indicates that CMIs offer greater efficacy than BB in improving exercise tolerance and LVOT obstruction in oHCM, supporting their role as potential first-line therapy. However, long-term safety, durability of benefit, optimal sequencing, and patient selection require further study. BBs remain clinically relevant for specific patient subgroups, but the advent of CMIs marks a paradigm shift from symptomatic relief toward targeted disease modification in oHCM.</p>","PeriodicalId":12950,"journal":{"name":"Heart Failure Reviews","volume":"31 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12999815/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147480508","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Correction to: \"Artificial intelligence and myocarditis-a systematic review of current applications\".","authors":"Paweł Marek Łajczak, Kamil Jóźwik","doi":"10.1007/s10741-026-10613-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10741-026-10613-7","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":12950,"journal":{"name":"Heart Failure Reviews","volume":"31 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147456711","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Allahdad Khan, Mishaim Khan, Bara M Hammadeh, Muhammad Umer Ishaq, Hamza Naveed, Salman Allana, Marat Fudim, Robert J Mentz, Gregg C Fonarow, Tor Biering-Sørensen
{"title":"Influenza vaccination in patients with heart failure: comprehensive review of evidence, challenges, and clinical implications.","authors":"Allahdad Khan, Mishaim Khan, Bara M Hammadeh, Muhammad Umer Ishaq, Hamza Naveed, Salman Allana, Marat Fudim, Robert J Mentz, Gregg C Fonarow, Tor Biering-Sørensen","doi":"10.1007/s10741-026-10605-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10741-026-10605-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Heart failure is a major global health burden, with high rates of hospitalization and mortality despite advances in medical therapy. Seasonal influenza is a well-established trigger for heart failure decompensation, acting through systemic inflammation, increased metabolic demand, endothelial dysfunction, prothrombotic states, and pulmonary congestion. These mechanisms contribute to higher risks of hospitalization, major adverse cardiovascular events, and death in patients with heart failure. Accordingly, major cardiovascular societies and public health organizations recommend annual influenza vaccination for all patients with heart failure. This review summarizes the biological rationale, clinical evidence, and implementation challenges surrounding influenza vaccination in heart failure. Observational studies consistently associate vaccination with lower mortality and reduced heart failure hospitalizations, though residual confounding remains a concern. More recent randomized and pragmatic trials, including large cardiovascular outcome studies and the dedicated PANDA-II trial, provide stronger evidence of benefit, demonstrating reductions in mortality and readmissions, particularly when vaccination is initiated during hospitalization for acute heart failure. Meta-analyses further support a protective effect against major cardiovascular events. Despite robust evidence and clear guideline endorsement, vaccination uptake remains suboptimal worldwide. Integrating influenza vaccination into routine and inpatient heart failure care represents a low-cost, scalable strategy with meaningful potential to improve clinical outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":12950,"journal":{"name":"Heart Failure Reviews","volume":"31 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147456731","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Submaximal exercise metrics: Looking prior to VO₂max : in Heart Failure.","authors":"Panagiota Georgiadou, Αthanasios Dritsas","doi":"10.1007/s10741-026-10606-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10741-026-10606-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Maximal oxygen uptake (VO₂max) remains the benchmark for cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) in chronic heart failure (CHF). However, VO₂max and its surrogate, VO₂peak, often fail to capture the full spectrum of functional impairment, especially in patients unable to reach maximal effort. This review delineates submaximal CPET-derived metrics that offer valuable prognostic and diagnostic insights beyond VO₂max and are less dependent on peak effort. Guideline-endorsed parameters such as ventilatory anaerobic threshold (VAT) and the minute ventilation–carbon dioxide production slope (VE/VCO₂) are established tools for risk stratification and transplant evaluation. Emerging markers—including O₂ uptake efficiency slope (OUES), exertional oscillatory ventilation (EOV), O₂ pulse and cardiorespiratory optimal point (COP)—offer robust prognostic value in effort-limited populations. Additionally, O₂ uptake kinetics and extrapolated maximal oxygen consumption (EMOC) provide mechanistic perspectives on central and peripheral limitations, though their clinical integration remains early. Incorporating these submaximal metrics into composite risk models may enhance individualized care and improve outcomes in CHF.</p>","PeriodicalId":12950,"journal":{"name":"Heart Failure Reviews","volume":"31 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147443043","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}