August 2025

CARDIOVASCULAR

THE IMPORTANCE OF DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING IN EARLY HFPEF

Featuring: Hidenori Yaku, MD, PhD, and Sanjiv J. Shah, MD
Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is the most common type of heart failure. Early identification of patients with early HFpEF  is critical due to the high mortality and morbidity of advanced HFpEF. However, diagnosing HFpEF can be particularly challenging due to a lack of obvious signs that can be detected by physician exam and in biomarker and imaging studies.

A review by Hidenori Yaku, MD, PhD, and Sanjiv J. Shah, MD, published in JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging, highlights how advanced diagnostic tools, such as exercise stress echocardiography, cardiopulmonary exercise testing with imaging and right heart catheterization can significantly improve early detection of early HFpEF.

​The authors also discuss ongoing clinical trials to develop more personalized and effective therapies for early HFpEF, including the HeartShare Deep Phenotyping Study led by Dr. Shah.
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“In 2007, we developed the first dedicated HFpEF clinical program in the world here at Northwestern, and since that time have been a leading center for research, clinical trial enrollment and clinical care of HFpEF patients,” Dr. Shah says. “The HeartShare grant from the NIH is a phenomenal opportunity to continue our research to improve the classification of the heterogeneous HFpEF syndrome, understand the biological basis of HFpEF phenotypes and set the stage for precision medicine clinical trials for HFpEF.
​Sanjiv J. Shah, MD, Director of Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine in the Center for Deep Phenotyping and Precision Therapeutics; Neil J. Stone, MD, Professor, Professor of Cardiology
Hidenori Yaku, MD, PhD, Post-doctoral Fellow in Department of ​Cardiology

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