Technological advances have enabled increasingly sophisticated attempts to remotely monitor heart failure. This should allow earlier identification of decompensation, better adherence to lifestyle changes and medication and interventions (such as diuretic dosage changes) that reduce the need for hospitalisation. This review discusses telemonitoring approaches in heart failure, and the evidence for their impact. It is not difficult to collect data remotely, but converting more data into better decision-making that improves the outcome of care is challenging. Policy-makers and technology companies are enthusiastic about the potential of digital technologies to transform healthcare and bring expertise to the patient, rather than the other way round, but guideline writers are not yet convinced, due to the lack of consistent findings in randomised trials.

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Left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) are increasingly common across the heart failure population. Right ventricular failure (RVF) is a feared complication that can occur in the early post-operative phase or during the outpatient follow-up. Multiple tools are available to the clinician to carefully estimate the individual risk of developing RVF after LVAD implantation. This review will provide a comprehensive overview of available tools for RVF prognostication, including patient-specific and right ventricle (RV)-specific echocardiographic and hemodynamic parameters, to provide guidance in patient selection during LVAD candidacy. We also offer a multidisciplinary approach to the management of early RVF, including indications and management of right ventricular assist devices in this setting to provide tools that help managing the failing RV.

Aims Studies in cardiogenic shock (CS) often have a heterogeneous population of patients, including those with acute myocardial infarction and acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF‐CS). The therapeutic profile of milrinone may benefit patients with ADHF‐CS. We compared the outcomes and haemodynamic trends in ADHF‐CS receiving either milrinone or dobutamine. Methods and results Patients presenting with ADHF‐CS (from 2014 to 2020) treated with a single inodilator (milrinone or dobutamine) were included in this study. Clinical characteristics, outcomes, and haemodynamic parameters were collected. The primary endpoint was 30 day mortality, with censoring at the time of transplant or left ventricular assist device implantation. A total of 573 patients were included, of which 366 (63.9%) received milrinone and 207 (36.1%) received dobutamine. Patients receiving milrinone were younger, had better kidney function, and lower lactate at admission. In addition, patients receiving milrinone received mechanical ventilation or vasopressors less frequently, whereas a pulmonary artery catheter was more frequently used. Milrinone use was associated with a lower adjusted risk of 30 day mortality (hazard ratio = 0.52, 95% confidence interval 0.35–0.77). After propensity‐matching, the use of milrinone remained associated with a lower mortality (hazard ratio = 0.51, 95% confidence interval 0.27–0.96). These findings were associated with improved pulmonary artery compliance, stroke volume, and right ventricular stroke work index. Conclusions The use of milrinone compared with dobutamine in patients with ADHF‐CS is associated with lower 30 day mortality and improved haemodynamics. These findings warrant further study in future randomized controlled trials.

The treatment of heart failure has expanded over the past three decades with large numbers of new medications and healthcare innovations available for these patients. At the same time, the prevalence of heart failure continues to increase across Canada and these patients are managed by a variety of clinicians from differing backgrounds in both primary care and hospital settings. Despite national recommendations advocating uptake of these new therapies, their utilization remains limited and inconsistent across the country. This review discusses the importance of knowledge translation in heart failure and examines the barriers to implementation of new therapies and models of care, providing a range of solutions to facilitate the delivery of guideline-directed care for heart failure patients.

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Background Left and right filling pressures, as well as cardiac output, are key targets in optimising treatment of cardiogenic shock (CS). Invasive pulmonary artery catheters can provide these data but are associated with complications and are not available in all hospital settings. Lung ultrasound (LUS) can detect pulmonary congestion in patients with heart failure (HF) and may be an alternative to invasive monitoring. We assessed the correlation between LUS score and invasive haemodynamic parameters in patients with CS admitted to the cardiac intensive care unit (CICU) of a North American cardiac centre. Methods We prospectively evaluated consecutive patients who underwent pulmonary artery catheter insertion in the CICU. Haemodynamic parameters including right atrial pressure (RAP) and pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP) were measured and cardiac output (CO) was calculated using the thermodilution method. This was immediately followed by an 8-zones LUS done by a critical care cardiologist who was blinded to the invasive hemodynamic measurements. The LUS score was calculated by counting the total number of B-lines in all 8 zones, with a higher score indicating greater congestion. Correlations between LUS score and hemodynamic parameters were evaluated using Pearson's correlation. Results Ninety-six measurements from 60 patients were included, aged 58±14 years with 27% female. The most common diagnosis at admission was cardiogenic shock, followed by acute myocardial infarction and HF exacerbation. Most patients were at SCAI stages C and D at the time of assessment. The mean number of B-lines at LUS was 10.1±8.2. Mean RAP was 8.5±4.6 mmHg, PCWP 16.2±6.3 mmHg and CO of 5.0±1.8 L/min. The total number of B-lines was correlated with PCWP (r=0.66, P<0.001, see Figure 1), RAP (r=0.26, P<0.001) and cardiac output (r=−0.23, p=0.02). Due to the correlation of B-lines in LUS with PCWP, we then evaluated the area under the ROC of the LUS to identify patients with PCWP ≥15 mmHg. The number of positive zones (≥3 B-lines) showed an AUC of 0.81 (0.72–0.89), P<0.001. In 36 patients, we had repeated measurement with more than 12 hours apart. The delta change in PCWP was correlated with delta change in the number of B-lines (r=0.59, P<0.001). Conclusion Elevated LUS score in patients with CS is associated with worse invasively-measured LV filling pressures, but less so with RAP or CO. LUS can serve as a useful adjunct to the clinical assessment of patients with CS who do not receive invasive hemodynamic monitoring, either at a single timepoint or to detect changes in clinical status over time, to guide ongoing management. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding sources: None.