American Heart Association Launches Primary Care Perspectives to Aid Earlier Heart Failure Risk Recognition

The American Heart Association has launched Primary Care Perspectives, a new platform designed to help primary care professionals better recognize and manage heart failure risk earlier. Supported by Bayer, the initiative addresses the growing complexity of overlapping conditions such as cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, Type 2 diabetes, obesity, and insulin resistance, which often precede heart failure by years. With nearly 7 million people in the United States living with heart failure—a number expected to rise—the platform provides practical education, tools, and resources tailored to the realities of everyday primary care.

“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 American Heart Association. “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 platform’s first initiative, 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). Primary care professionals are often the first point of contact for at-risk patients, yet they face barriers such as rapidly evolving guidance, limited time, underused screening tools, and care coordination challenges. Many eligible patients hospitalized with heart failure do not receive guideline-directed medical therapy at discharge, highlighting the need for earlier intervention.

“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 launch with an educational webinar, Early Diagnosis and Initial Management of Heart Failure in Primary Care, on June 29, 2026. Offerings will include a core curriculum, practical screening tools, professional education and certification opportunities, resources for shared decision-making, and peer-to-peer learning. Additional resources include the 2022 AHA/ACC/HFSA Guideline for the Management of Heart Failure and the Heart Failure in Primary Care page on Professional Heart Daily.

By focusing on earlier risk identification and management in primary care, the initiative aims to improve long-term outcomes and reduce preventable disease progression, addressing a critical need in the fight against heart failure.