The American Heart Association (AHA) has launched Primary Care Perspectives, a new platform designed to help primary care professionals recognize heart failure risk earlier and manage patients with overlapping cardiovascular, kidney, and metabolic conditions. Supported by Bayer, the initiative addresses the growing complexity of these conditions, which affect nearly 7 million people in the United States living with heart failure—a number expected to rise.
Primary care professionals are often the first point of contact for patients at risk, yet face barriers such as limited time, fragmented guidance, and underused screening tools. The platform aims to provide practical education, tools, and resources to support earlier identification and management of cardiovascular, kidney, and metabolic (CKM) risk. According to Eduardo Sanchez, MD, MPH, FAHA, chief medical officer for prevention at the AHA, the platform was created to help clinicians recognize risk earlier, make informed decisions, and support patients before heart failure becomes more difficult to prevent or manage.
The first initiative under the platform, Heart Failure in Primary Care, focuses on identifying and managing risk factors connected to heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and heart failure with mildly reduced ejection fraction (HFmrEF). Despite established guidelines, many eligible patients hospitalized with heart failure do not receive guideline-directed medical therapy at discharge. Earlier identification in primary care may improve long-term outcomes and reduce preventable disease progression.
Bayer’s Robert Perkins, M.D., M.P.H., FACP, vice president of U.S. medical affairs cardiovascular and renal, emphasized the burden of heart failure on patients, caregivers, and health systems, stating that the initiative will help primary care professionals identify risk earlier and support timely care.
The three-year initiative will launch with an educational webinar on June 29, 2026, titled Early Diagnosis and Initial Management of Heart Failure in Primary Care. Offerings will include a core curriculum, practical screening tools, professional education and certification opportunities, resources for shared decision-making, and peer-to-peer learning opportunities. 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.
The AHA, a leading source of health information for over 100 years, funds research, advocates for public health, and provides resources to save lives affected by cardiovascular disease and stroke.
