The American Heart Association (AHA) announced the launch of Primary Care Perspectives, a new platform designed to help primary care professionals recognize heart failure risk earlier and manage cardiovascular, kidney, and metabolic (CKM) conditions. Supported by Bayer, the initiative addresses the growing complexity of overlapping conditions such as cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, Type 2 diabetes, and obesity, which often precede heart failure by years.
Nearly 7 million people in the United States have heart failure, a number expected to rise. Primary care providers are often the first point of contact for at-risk patients but face barriers including limited time, fragmented guidance, and underused screening tools. 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 mildly reduced ejection fraction (HFmrEF).
“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 initiative aims to reduce delays in diagnosis and treatment, as many eligible patients hospitalized with heart failure do not receive guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) at discharge. The three-year program will offer a core curriculum, screening tools, professional education, and peer-to-peer learning. The first educational webinar, titled Early Diagnosis and Initial Management of Heart Failure in Primary Care, is scheduled for June 29, 2026.
Robert Perkins, M.D., M.P.H., FACP, vice president of U.S. medical affairs cardiovascular and renal at Bayer, stated, “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. 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 AHA emphasizes that earlier identification and management in primary care could improve long-term outcomes and reduce preventable disease progression. Additional resources include the 2022 AHA/ACC/HFSA Guideline for the Management of Heart Failure and the Heart Failure in Primary Care page on the AHA's Professional Heart Daily.
