DIRECT HF Educational Program: Sudden Cardiac Death Prevention in Contemporary Heart Failure Care

We are excited to announce that the first session of the DIRECT HF Educational Program, “Sudden Cardiac Death Prevention in Contemporary HF Care,” is now available on demand. Led by esteemed program chairs Javed Butler and Shelley Zieroth, this session provided critical insights into improving heart failure management and preventing sudden cardiac death.

This impactful webinar brought together leading experts to discuss the integration of guideline-directed cardiac rhythm management therapies into comprehensive HF care. If you missed the live session, this is your chance to gain valuable knowledge and practical strategies to enhance patient outcomes.

What You’ll Learn:

Introduction to the DIRECT HF educational program (3 min)

Javed Butler

Cardiac rhythm management devices: cornerstones of comprehensive, patient-centered HF care (10 min)

Shelley Zieroth, Wilfried Mullens

• Global epidemiology and burden of HF
• Treatment objectives and personalized care
• Comprehensive HF care: overview of management options
• Integration of implantable device therapy in HF care
• Timing of drug and device therapy
• Gaps in HF guideline implementation and barriers to optimal HF care



Prevention of sudden cardiac death: relevance in contemporary HF care (20 min)

Christophe Leclercq, Gianluigi Savarese, Biykem Bozkurt

• Risk of SCD in HFrEF in the current era of pharmacological therapy
• Efficacy and safety of ICD therapy in HFrEF
• What determines the mortality benefit of ICD therapy?
• Eligibility criteria for ICD therapy in clinical practice guidelines
• Personalized SCD risk stratification
• Timing of referral for ICD implantation: the need for an individualized approach
• Case discussion

ICD therapy in HF: the patient’s perspective (10 min)

Loreena Hill, Alexandre Mebazaa, Naoki Sato and patient representatives

• Patients’ needs and perceptions with respect to implantable cardiac devices
• Shared decision making in practice: the patient as a partner

Panel discussion (15 min)

Biykem Bozkurt, Javed Butler, Giuseppe Rosano, Gianluigi Savarese, Shelley Zieroth

Conclusion (2 min)

Shelley Zieroth

What’s Next?

Save the date for our next session on February 20th, 2025, where we’ll discuss ICDs and CRT therapy in optimizing care for patients with HFrEF.