HEART FAILURE WITH PRESERVED EJECTION FRACTION (HFPEF)

Course overview

HEART FAILURE IS A COMPLEX CLINICAL SYNDROME THAT IS ESTIMATED TO AFFECT 1% TO 3% OF THE GLOBAL POPULATION. HEART FAILURE IS THE COMMON ENDPOINT FOR MANY CARDIAC AND NONCARDIAC DISEASE PROCESSES, ALL OF WHICH IMPAIR VENTRICULAR STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION TO A POINT WHERE THE HEART IS UNABLE TO PUMP BLOOD TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THE PERIPHERAL TISSUES OR CAN ONLY DO SO AT THE COST OF INCREASED VENTRICULAR FILLING PRESSURES. HEART FAILURE WITH PRESERVED EJECTION FRACTION (HFPEF), PREVIOUSLY KNOWN AS DIASTOLIC HEART FAILURE, IS CURRENTLY DEFINED AS A LEFT VENTRICULAR EJECTION FRACTION OF ≥50% WITH EVIDENCE OF SPONTANEOUS OR PROVOKABLE INCREASED LEFT VENTRICULAR FILLING PRESSURES; HFPEF COMPRISES AT LEAST 50% OF ALL HEART FAILURE DIAGNOSES. WHILE THE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF HFPEF ARE SIMILAR TO THOSE OF OTHER HEART FAILURE CLASSES, THE UNDERLYING PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL PROCESSES AND RISK FACTORS ARE CONSIDERABLY DIFFERENT. THESE DIFFERENCES MAKE THE DIAGNOSIS OF HFPEF CLINICALLY CHALLENGING. PATIENTS WITH HFPEF DEMONSTRATE INCREASED ALL-CAUSE MORTALITY, REDUCED QUALITY OF LIFE, AND A SIGNIFICANT ECONOMIC HEALTHCARE BURDEN.THIS ACTIVITY REVIEWS THE EPIDEMIOLOGY, ETIOLOGY, PATHOPHYSIOLOGY, SIGNS, SYMPTOMS, EVALUATION, EVIDENCE-BASED MANAGEMENT, GUIDELINE-DIRECTED THERAPY, COMPLICATIONS, AND PROGNOSIS OF HFPEF. THIS ACTIVITY ALSO HIGHLIGHTS THE VITAL ROLE OF THE INTERPROFESSIONAL HEALTHCARE TEAM IN REDUCING THE BURDEN OF SYMPTOMS AND IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF LIFE AND HEALTH-RELATED OUTCOMES FOR PATIENTS WITH HFPEF.