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Heart Failure

Heart Failure is a life threatening disease, affecting approximately 64.34 million people worldwide.1
  • Individuals at risk of heart failure include people with diabetes,2 which affects 537 million adults worldwide.3
  • Heart Failure is a global pandemic affecting 64.34 million patients worldwide and is increasing in prevalence1


The outlook for such patients is poor, with survival rates worse than those for bowel, breast or prostate cancer. Furthermore, heart failure places great stresses on patients, caregivers and healthcare systems. Despite the treatments available, hospitalisation and mortality rates remain high.4

The impact of heart failure

Unmet needs in HF patient management
Screening, improved diagnosis and better disease monitoring are needed2,5

Heart failure - Patient journey

1. Screening
 

  • Many people are at risk of developing HF2

2. Chronic Heart failure diagnosis

  • Patients missed or referred too late due to non HF specific symptoms6

3. Acute Heart failure diagnosis

  • Evaluation includes measurement of cardiac biomarkers (NPs) and echocardiography5

4. Monitoring & follow up

  • Treatment optimization and tracking HF disease progression is key to reduce readmissions2,5

Biomarkers can play a critical role in improving diagnosis and disease management.

How is heart failure diagnosed?

 

As a first step to diagnosis, an examination and the patient’s medical history are assessed. Then two further tests and procedures are performed.2,5 These are a biomarker (blood test) for natriuretic peptides, and an echocardiography to determine any structural and functional impairment of the heart (changes in heartbeat rhythm, pumping capacity, wall stress and wall thickness). Interpretation of the results provided by those tests helps in the confirmation or exclusion of the diagnosis of heart failure.

 

Biomarker - a characteristic that is objectively measured and evaluated as an indicator of normal biological processes, pathogenic processes, or pharmacologic responses to a therapeutic intervention.7

Natriuretic peptides - Natriuretic peptides are hormones that are made by the heart when its wall is stretched.8

NT-proBNP - N-terminal pro b-type natriuretic peptide is part of the natriuretic peptides family.8

Related information

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    * NPs: Natriuretic Peptides

    References

     

    1. Savarese G, et al. Global burden of Heart failure: a comprehensive and updated review of epidemiology. Cardiovasc Res. 2023; 118:3272-87.
    2. Heidenreich PA, et al. 2022 AHA/ACC/HFSA Guideline for the Management of Heart Failure. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2022;3:79e263-421.
    3. Sun H, et al. IDF Diabetes Atlas: Global, regional and country-level diabetes prevalence estimates for 2021 and projections for 2045. Diabetes Res Clin. 2022; 183:109-119.
    4. Ponikowski P, et al. Heart Failure: preventing disease and death worldwide. ESC Heart Fail. 2014; 1:4-25.
    5. McDonagh AT, et al. 2021 ESC Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic heart failure. Eur Heart J. 2021; 42(36):3599-3726. 
    6. Bottle A, et al. Routes to diagnosis of heart failure: observational study using linked data in England. Heart 2018; 104:600).
    7. Puntmann VO. How-to guide on biomarkers: biomarker definitions, validation and applications with examples from cardiovascular disease. Postgrad Med J. 2009; 85(1008): 538-545.
    8. Weber M and Hamm C. Role of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and NT-proBNP in clinical routine. Heart. 2006; 92:843-849.