Patients with an established diagnosis of heart failure (HF) with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) are prone to experience episodes of worsening symptoms and signs despite continued therapy, termed "worsening heart failure" (WHF). Despite guideline-directed medical therapy, worsening of chronic heart failure accounts for almost 50% of all hospital admissions for HF, and patients experiencing WHF carry a substantially higher risk of death and hospitalization than patients with "stable" HF. New drugs are emerging as arrows in the quiver for clinicians to address the residual risk of HF hospitalization and cardiovascular deaths in patients with WHF. This question-and-answer-based review will discuss the emerging definition of WHF in light of the recent clinical consensus released by the Heart Failure Association (HFA) of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), the new therapeutic approaches to treat WHF and then move on to their timing and safety concerns (i.e., renal profile).
Keywords: cardiovascular death; guideline-directed medical therapy; heart failure hospitalization; heart failure with reduced ejection fraction; randomized controlled trial; worsening heart failure.