Early HF Screening Algorithm in Primary Care
Early HF Screening Algorithm in Primary Care
Source: 2025
JACC: Advances (original study)
1. Background
• Heart failure (HF) is often first diagnosed in the ER or hospital, when disease is advanced and harder to treat.
• Early detection can improve quality of life, reduce hospitalizations, and enable earlier therapy.
2. Vivio System (FDA-cleared, 2023)
• Uses a physics-based model to estimate LVEDP (filling pressure).
• Requires only a Bluetooth-enabled single-lead ECG + proprietary BP cuff.
• Test takes ~5 minutes during a primary care visit, results delivered to clinician via tablet.
3. Study Details
• 2,040 patients screened (age ≥65, with diabetes or CKD).
• 38.5% had elevated LVEDP.
• These patients also completed the KCCQ-12 symptom/quality-of-life questionnaire.
• Nearly 25% of patients with elevated LVEDP already had NYHA class II–IV symptoms.
4. Key Findings
• Combining KCCQ + noninvasive LVEDP detected many previously undiagnosed HF patients.
• More women were identified than men → consistent with known delayed HF diagnosis in women.
• Less than one-third were asymptomatic, while over one-quarter already had significant HF symptoms.
5. Clinical Implications
• This noninvasive LVEDP tool offers a practical way to screen HF in primary care.
• Could reduce mortality, ER visits, and hospitalizations by enabling earlier diagnosis.
• Already >15,000 tests performed in real-world practice, with reports of improved HF detection and treatment adherence.
Conclusion:
The Vivio System provides a fast, noninvasive HF screening method suitable for primary care, helping identify high-risk elderly patients with comorbidities earlier, especially women, and enabling timely treatment before advanced symptoms develop
