Significance of Handgrip Strength in HF HGS is a simple, non-invasive measure of muscle strength, correlating with physical condition and considered a prognostic marker in HF., A systematic review of 7,350 HF patients revealed that a 1 kg reduction in HGS increases mortality risk by 8% (RR 1.08, 95% CI 1.05–1.11). Unlike complex measures, such as cardiopulmonary exercise testing, HGS is low-cost, accessible, and feasible in all clinical settings, making it a straightforward tool to assess frailty and guide rehabilitation., […]

Heart failure (HF) ranks among the leading causes of hospital admission and death. Nevertheless, the factors precipitating mortality—particularly after a decompensation-related admission—are far more heterogeneous than once assumed. In the article “Multiple Cause of Death Analysis in Heart Failure According to Ejection Fraction” published in this issue of the Arquivos Brasileiros de Cardiologia, 519 patients hospitalised for decompensated HF between 2011 and 2019 had their death certificates examined with a multiple-cause-of-death (MCOD) approach. Over a mean follow-up of 2.9 years, […]

The article titled Survival Analysis and Factors Associated with Mortality in Heart Failure Patients in the ELSA-Brasil Cohort presents a significant case series on mortality in 251 patients diagnosed with heart failure in a Brazilian long-term outpatient follow-up cohort. The clinical profile associated with male individuals aged 70 and older, with left ventricular systolic dysfunction and the presence of comorbidities, showed poorer survival outcomes. Overall mortality after 12.3 years of follow-up was 19%. Among the classes of drugs known to […]

Although new Chagas disease (CD) cases have decreased in the last decades through control of vector-borne and blood transfusion transmission, around 3,7 million Brazilians still live chronically affected by this disease. As around 30-40% of this population presents the cardiac form (CCC), and heart failure (HF) is present in about 10% of those with CCC, CD is a major cause of HF in endemic countries, ranging from 4% to 50%.– The paper by Silva et al. adds important updated epidemiological […]

Heart failure (HF) accounts for a growing burden of disease and healthcare costs both globally and in Brazil. It represents the final common pathway of several cardiovascular diseases, including specific and well-defined conditions such as ischemic heart disease. Prevalence and incidence data have shown progressive increases over recent decades, with the current HF prevalence estimated at 2.5% among U.S. adults, and projected to reach 3.0% by 2030., HF-related hospital admissions are also on the rise in the United States. Meanwhile, […]