The American Heart Association (AHA) has introduced Primary Care Perspectives, a new initiative aimed at equipping primary care professionals with tools to recognize heart failure risk earlier and manage patients more effectively. Supported by Bayer, the platform addresses the growing overlap of cardiovascular, kidney, and metabolic (CKM) conditions, which collectively increase heart failure risk. Nearly 7 million Americans currently live with heart failure, a figure projected to climb as the population ages and chronic diseases become more prevalent.
Primary care professionals are often the first to encounter patients with risk factors, yet they face significant barriers including limited time, fragmented guidance, and underutilized screening tools. The initiative seeks to provide practical education and resources tailored to the realities of everyday clinical practice. “Primary care professionals are managing increasing complexity across cardiovascular, kidney and metabolic conditions, often while navigating limited time and fragmented guidance,” said Eduardo Sanchez, MD, MPH, FAHA, chief medical officer for prevention at the AHA. “Primary Care Perspectives was created to support clinicians with practical education and tools that can help them recognize risk earlier, make informed decisions with confidence and support patients before heart failure becomes more difficult to prevent or manage.”
The first component, Heart Failure in Primary Care, focuses on identifying and managing risk factors for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and heart failure with mildly reduced ejection fraction (HFmrEF). Many eligible patients hospitalized with heart failure do not receive guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) at discharge, highlighting a critical gap that primary care can help fill. “Bayer is proud to support the American Heart Association’s Primary Care Perspectives initiative and its focus on providing practical education and resources that can help clinicians navigate the growing complexity of cardiovascular, kidney and metabolic conditions,” said Robert Perkins, M.D., M.P.H., FACP, vice president of U.S. medical affairs cardiovascular and renal at Bayer. “Heart failure continues to place a significant burden on patients, caregivers and health systems, and this initiative will help primary care professionals identify risk earlier and support timely care.”
The three-year initiative will include a core curriculum, practical screening tools, professional education and certification opportunities, resources for shared decision-making, and peer-to-peer learning. The first educational webinar, “Early Diagnosis and Initial Management of Heart Failure in Primary Care,” is scheduled for June 29, 2026. Clinicians can access more information on the Heart Failure in Primary Care page on the AHA’s Professional Heart Daily site. Additional resources include the 2022 AHA/ACC/HFSA Guideline for the Management of Heart Failure and information on risk-based primary prevention of heart failure.
