Patients with heart failure encounter a multitude of challenges when navigating care and dealing with the burden of their condition, which can be made even more difficult among patients with cognitive impairment. With this in mind, the latest scientific statement from the Heart Failure Society of America takes aim at addressing the prevalence and impact of cognitive impairment in patients with heart failure as well as strategies for screening and advanced care planning.

A 17-page document citing 142 references, the scientific statement is broken down into 5 sections addressing risk factors for cognitive impairment, implications of cognitive impairment, management of cognitive impairment, integration of cognitive impairment into decision making, and gaps in knowledge and challenges to implementation. The document calls specific attention to 6 consequences of cognitive impairment in heart failure: (1) learning and memory, (2) executive function, (3) complex attention, (4) perceptual-motor function, (5) language, and (6) social cognition.

In this video, statement co-author Eiran Gorodeski, MD, MPH, of University Hospitals, provides perspective on the document and what he thinks are the most important take-home points for clinicians both inside cardiology and beyond.

For the full interview and article: https://www.hcplive.com/view/hfsa-cal...

Reference:
Goyal P, DiDomenico RJ, Pressler SJ, Allen LA, Gorodeski EZ. Cognitive Impairment in Heart Failure: A Heart Failure Society of America Scientific Statement. Journal of Cardiac Failure. Published online March 12, 2024. doi:10.1016/j.cardfail.2024.01.003

Relevant disclosures for Gorodeski include Abbott, Boston Scientific, and Masimo.