New Echo Criteria Tested for H. F. pEF 03/19/26

Welcome to Cardiology Today – Recorded March 19, 2026. This episode summarizes 5 key cardiology studies on topics like functional mitral regurgitation and quality of care. Key takeaway: New Echo Criteria Tested for H. F. pEF. Article Links: Article 1: Left Atrial Appendage Closure or Medical Therapy in Atrial Fibrillation. (The New England journal of medicine) Article 2: Atrial Functional Mitral Regurgitation: Effect of Phenotype Definition on Classification, Valve Features, and Prognosis. (Journal of the American College of Cardiology) Article 3: Ethnicity and Heart Failure Outcomes in England: Role of Specialist Care in a Universal Health System. (Journal of the American College of Cardiology) Article 4: Cardiomyopathy Gene Variants and Polygenic Risk Scores in Atrial Fibrillation: Evidence for an Atrial-First Phenotype. (Journal of the American College of Cardiology) Article 5: Echocardiographic Diastolic Function Grading in HFpEF: Testing the Updated 2025 ASE Criteria. (Journal of the American College of Cardiology) Full episode page: https://podcast.explainheart.com/podcast/new-echo-criteria-tested-for-h-f-pef-03-19-26/ Featured Articles Article 1: Left Atrial Appendage Closure or Medical Therapy in Atrial Fibrillation. Journal: The New England journal of medicine PubMed Link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41849741 Summary: The clinical question concerns the effectiveness of catheter-based Left Atrial Appendage Closure as an alternative to oral anticoagulation for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation patients. This study investigated its efficacy compared to physician-directed best medical care in those at high risk for both stroke and bleeding. A multicenter randomized trial in Germany examined this critical comparison. The research addresses the optimal therapeutic strategy for this complex patient population. Article 2: Atrial Functional Mitral Regurgitation: Effect of Phenotype Definition on Classification, Valve Features, and Prognosis. Journal: Journal of the American College of Cardiology PubMed Link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41848471 Summary: This article highlights Atrial functional Mitral Regurgitation (AfMR) as a distinct and clinically significant form of functional mitral regurgitation. It found that disparate published definitions create significant uncertainty regarding its prevalence, specific morphology, and associated mortality. This definitional inconsistency was shown to impede consistent clinical decision making and patient classification. The analysis underscores the critical need for a unified and broadly applicable definition to improve management. Article 3: Ethnicity and Heart Failure Outcomes in England: Role of Specialist Care in a Universal Health System. Journal: Journal of the American College of Cardiology PubMed Link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41848357 Summary: Reports indicated poorer cardiovascular outcomes among ethnic minorities, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. This analysis investigated the relationship between ethnicity, quality of care after heart failure hospitalization, and long-term outcomes in England. The study utilized routinely collected national audit data to examine these disparities within a universal health system. It focused on understanding how ethnicity influences care quality and subsequent long-term outcomes for patients hospitalized with acute heart failure. Article 4: Cardiomyopathy Gene Variants and Polygenic Risk Scores in Atrial Fibrillation: Evidence for an Atrial-First Phenotype. Journal: Journal of the American College of Cardiology PubMed Link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41706057 Summary: The genetic substrate of atrial fibrillation (A. F.) is heritable and complex. This study explored the impact of disease-causing cardiomyopathy variants on the risk of A. F., even after accounting for incident ventricular cardiomyopathy and clinical heart failure. Researchers evaluated the utility of polygenic risk scores (P. R. S.) to further differentiate between atrial and ventricular phenotypes in gene variant carriers. The findings provided evidence supporting an “atrial-first phenotype” in the context of cardiomyopathy gene variants and A. F. risk. Article 5: Echocardiographic Diastolic Function Grading in HFpEF: Testing the Updated 2025 ASE Criteria. Journal: Journal of the American College of Cardiology PubMed Link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41532943 Summary: F. pEF: Testing the Updated 2025 A. S. E. Criteria. The American Society of Echocardiography (A. S. E.) recently proposed an updated 2025 algorithm for echocardiographic grading of left ventricular diastolic function. This study systematically evaluated the new A. S. E. algorithm specifically in patients with invasively confirmed ambulatory Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction (H. F. pEF). The investigation determined the false-negative rate of this algorithm within this patient population. It assessed the diagnostic accuracy of the updated criteria for grading diastolic dysfunction in H. F. pEF. Transcript Today’s date is March 19, 2026. Welcome to Cardiology Today. Here are the latest research findings. Article number one. Left Atrial Appendage Closure or Medical Therapy in Atrial Fibrillation. The clinical question concerns the effectiveness of catheter-based Left Atrial Appendage Closure as an alternative to oral anticoagulation for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation patients. This study investigated its efficacy compared to physician-directed best medical care in those at high risk for both stroke and bleeding. A multicenter randomized trial in Germany examined this critical comparison. The research addresses the optimal therapeutic strategy for this complex patient population. Article number two. Atrial Functional Mitral Regurgitation: Effect of Phenotype Definition on Classification, Valve Features, and Prognosis. This article highlights Atrial functional Mitral Regurgitation (AfMR) as a distinct and clinically significant form of functional mitral regurgitation. It found that disparate published definitions create significant uncertainty regarding its prevalence, specific morphology, and associated mortality. This definitional inconsistency was shown to impede consistent clinical decision making and patient classification. The analysis underscores the critical need for a unified and broadly applicable definition to improve management. Article number three. Ethnicity and Heart Failure Outcomes in England: Role of Specialist Care in a Universal Health System. Reports indicated poorer cardiovascular outcomes among ethnic minorities, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. This analysis investigated the relationship between ethnicity, quality of care after heart failure hospitalization, and long-term outcomes in England. The study utilized routinely collected national audit data to examine these disparities within a universal health system. It focused on understanding how ethnicity influences care quality and subsequent long-term outcomes for patients hospitalized with acute heart failure. Article number four. Cardiomyopathy Gene Variants and Polygenic Risk Scores in Atrial Fibrillation: Evidence for an Atrial-First Phenotype. The genetic substrate of atrial fibrillation (A. F.) is heritable and complex. This study explored the impact of disease-causing cardiomyopathy variants on the risk of A. F., even after accounting for incident ventricular cardiomyopathy and clinical heart failure. Researchers evaluated the utility of polygenic risk scores (P. R. S.) to further differentiate between atrial and ventricular phenotypes in gene variant carriers. The findings provided evidence supporting an “atrial-first phenotype” in the context of cardiomyopathy gene variants and A. F. risk. Article number five. Echocardiographic Diastolic Function Grading in H. F. pEF: Testing the Updated 2025 A. S. E. Criteria. The American Society of Echocardiography (A. S. E.) recently proposed an updated 2025 algorithm for echocardiographic grading of left ventricular diastolic function. This study systematically evaluated the new A. S. E. algorithm specifically in patients with invasively confirmed ambulatory Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction (H. F. pEF). The investigation determined the false-negative rate of this algorithm within this patient population. It assessed the diagnostic accuracy of the updated criteria for grading diastolic dysfunction in H. F. pEF. Thank you for listening. Don’t forget to subscribe. Keywords functional mitral regurgitation, quality of care, diastolic function, disease classification, A. S. E. criteria, Cardiomyopathy gene variants, echocardiography, heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, atrial fibrillation, bleeding risk, health disparities, Ethnicity, oral anticoagulation, Atrial functional mitral regurgitation, Echocardiography, heart failure outcomes, genetic risk, left ventricular diastolic dysfunction, mitral valve disease, atrial-first phenotype, Left Atrial Appendage Closure, polygenic risk scores, universal health system, stroke prevention. About Concise summaries of cardiovascular research for professionals. Subscribe • Share • FollowThe post New Echo Criteria Tested for H. F. pEF 03/19/26 first appeared on Cardiology Today.