The American Heart Association (AHA) has launched Primary Care Perspectives, a new platform designed to help primary care professionals identify cardiovascular, kidney, and metabolic (CKM) risks earlier and manage heart failure more effectively. Supported by Bayer, the initiative addresses the growing challenge of heart failure, which affects nearly 7 million people in the United States, a number expected to rise. The platform aims to provide practical education, tools, and resources tailored to the realities of primary care, where clinicians often face limited time and fragmented guidance.
Dr. Eduardo Sanchez, chief medical officer for prevention at the AHA, emphasized that primary care professionals are managing increasing complexity across CKM conditions. "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," he said. The first initiative under the platform, Heart Failure in Primary Care, focuses on identifying and managing risk factors linked to heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and mildly reduced ejection fraction (HFmrEF).
Primary care professionals are often the first point of contact for patients at risk of heart failure, yet many face barriers such as rapidly evolving guidelines, limited patient visit time, underused screening tools, and care coordination challenges. According to the AHA, many eligible patients hospitalized with heart failure do not receive guideline-directed medical therapy at discharge. Earlier identification and management in primary care could improve long-term outcomes and reduce preventable disease progression.
Robert Perkins, M.D., vice president of U.S. medical affairs cardiovascular and renal at Bayer, noted the burden of heart failure on patients and health systems. "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," he said.
The three-year initiative will launch with an educational webinar, "Early Diagnosis and Initial Management of Heart Failure in Primary Care," on June 29, 2026. Offerings will include a core curriculum on CKM risk identification, practical screening tools, professional education and certification opportunities, resources for shared decision-making, and peer-to-peer learning. More information is available at the Heart Failure in Primary Care page on the AHA's Professional Heart Daily site. The initiative aligns with the 2022 AHA/ACC/HFSA Guideline for the Management of Heart Failure and the AHA's Risk-Based Primary Prevention of Heart Failure statement.
The AHA, a leading source of health information for over a century, funds groundbreaking research and advocates for public health. Supported by more than 35 million volunteers globally, the organization works to advance health and transform lives affected by cardiovascular disease and stroke.
