Special Edition: Diabetes and Heart Health—Detecting and Treating Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction (HFpEF)

In this special episode on Treatment of Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction (HFpEF) our host, Dr. Neil Skolnik will lead a case-based discussion on HFpEF, presenting challenges and integration of emerging evidence into clinical practice. This special episode is supported by an independent educational grant from Roche.

Presented by:

• Neil Skolnik, MD, Professor of Family and Community Medicine, Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University; Associate Director, Family Medicine Residency Program, Abington Jefferson Health
• Susan Kuchera, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor of Family and Community Medicine at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University and Program Director of the Family Medicine Residency at Jefferson Health Abington
• Muthu Vaduganathan MD, Cardiologist and Co-Director, Center for Cardiometabolic Implementation Science at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School; Associate Editor of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology

Selected references:

• Heart Failure: An Underappreciated Complication of Diabetes. A Consensus Report of the American Diabetes Association. Diabetes Care 2022
• 2023 American College of Cardiology Expert Consensus Decision Pathway on Management of Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction (HFpEF). Journal of the American College of Cardiology 2023
• Time to Clinical Benefit of Dapagliflozin in Patients With Heart Failure With Mildly Reduced or Preserved Ejection Fraction. JAMA Cardiology 2022;7(12):1259-1263

This special edition of Diabetes Core Update is sponsored by Roche. Thank you for listening, and until next time, stay safe and keep learning.

This is the second episode in a special three-part series of the Diabetes Core Update podcast, focusing on "heart failure with preserved ejection fraction" (HFpEF) in people with diabetes.

Sponsored by Roche, this series provides primary care clinicians and healthcare professionals with actionable insights into screening, diagnosis, and treatment of HFpEF, a major complication in cardiometabolic care.

In this episode, host Dr. Neil Skolnik discusses treatment strategies for HFpEF with expert guest Dr. James Jannuzzi, a cardiologist and professor at Harvard Medical School. Building on the first episode’s discussion of screening and diagnosis, this installment highlights evidence-based treatments and their integration into diabetes care.

Presented by:

• Neil Skolnik, MD, Professor of Family and Community Medicine, Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University; Associate Director, Family Medicine Residency Program, Abington Jefferson Health
• James Jannuzzi, MD, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Staff Cardiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Senior Cardiometabolic Faculty at Baim Institute for Clinical Research.

Selected references:

• Heart Failure: An Underappreciated Complication of Diabetes. A Consensus Report of the American Diabetes Association. Diabetes Care 2022
• 2023 American College of Cardiology Expert Consensus Decision Pathway on Management of Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction. Journal of the American College of Cardiology 2023

Tune in to the third and final episode, where the series will explore clinical decision-making and case-based applications of HFpEF treatments.

This special edition of Diabetes Core Update is sponsored by Roche. Thank you for listening, and until next time, stay safe and keep learning.

Welcome to the first episode in a special three-part series of the Diabetes Core Update podcast, focused on heart screening in people with diabetes. Sponsored by Roche, this series explores "heart failure with preserved ejection fraction" (HFpEF), providing primary care clinicians and healthcare professionals with essential insights into screening, diagnosis, and management of this increasingly recognized condition.

In this episode, host Dr. Neil Skolnik introduces the growing importance of HFpEF in diabetes care and is joined by two esteemed experts:

Rodica Busui, MD, PhD, Professor and Chief of the Division of Endocrinology at the Oregon Health and Science University and Past President of the American Diabetes Association for Medicine and Science.
James Jannuzzi, MD, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Staff Cardiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Senior Cardiometabolic Faculty at Baim Institute for Clinical Research.

 

The discussion explores:

1. HFpEF Basics: Definition, prevalence, and how it differs from heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF).
2. Pathophysiology: The multifactorial causes of HFpEF, including aging, obesity, diabetes, and more.
3. Diabetes and HFpEF: Why HFpEF should be considered a major complication of diabetes alongside atherosclerotic and microvascular diseases.
4. Screening Recommendations: Insights from the 2022 ADA/ACC Consensus Report, emphasizing early detection through biomarkers like NT-proBNP and annual testing for at-risk patients.

Key Takeaways:

• Epidemiology: HFpEF affects at least half of heart failure patients and is increasingly prevalent due to aging, obesity, and diabetes.
• Screening Guidelines: Every person with diabetes, especially those with chronic kidney disease, hypertension, or obesity, should be considered for HFpEF screening.
• Biomarkers: NT-proBNP thresholds are key tools for early diagnosis, with tailored considerations for obesity and other conditions.
• Prevention and Collaboration: Effective risk factor management and team-based care can prevent HFpEF progression and improve outcomes.

Thank you for joining us on this first of a multipart series on early detection and treatment of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. In the first part of this series, we focused on basics—epidemiology, pathophysiology, and staging—as well as the critically important new recommendations around screening people with diabetes for heart failure.

In the second part of the series, we’ll explore treatment strategies for HFpEF.

This special edition of Diabetes Core Update is sponsored by Roche.