WASHINGTON, DC (JULY 8, 2025) – Recent studies have determined that failing hearts increase ketone body oxidation to meet its energy demands – a metabolic adaptation that may be cardioprotective. Small clinical trials with short-term follow-up have demonstrated that interventions to boost blood ketone levels – especially exogenously via supplementation with ketone bodies – could have a positive impact on the failing heart. Though there is not enough data to routinely recommend therapeutic ketosis to patients through exercise or diet, some patients have already adopted these practices on their own. Thus, it is important for clinicians to be prepared to manage patients who are in therapeutic ketosis.
This state-of-the-art review, now available in the Journal of Cardiac Failure July 2025 issue, examines myocardial ketone metabolism in heart failure (HF) and discusses practical considerations for managing patients employing ketosis-inducing practices and a “framework to distinguish between therapeutic ketosis and the pathologic state of ketoacidosis.”
“This month’s issue of JCF includes timely and clinically relevant content—most notably, a state-of-the-art review on therapeutic ketosis in heart failure. As the field explores the metabolic adaptations of the failing heart, the state-of-the-art review on therapeutic ketosis in heart failure in this month’s issue of JCF equips clinicians with a foundational understanding of ketone metabolism and practical strategies for managing patients who are adopting ketosis-inducing interventions. It’s a must-read for heart failure specialists,” said JCF co-editors-in-chief Robert J. Mentz, MD and Anuradha Lala, MD.
Key Highlights include:
Coronary Artery Calcium for Risk Stratification of Heart Failure Mortality: The Coronary Artery Calcium Consortium
Sleeping on Pins and Needles: Exploring the decline in sleep quality for close family members of cardiac arrest survivors and how best to intervene
This study aimed to determine if a higher coronary artery calcium (CAC) score is associated with increased rates of long-term HF-related mortality in the CAC Consortium, a multicenter observational cohort of patients enrolled between 1991-2010 free of known coronary artery disease (CAD) who underwent CAC testing.1
Cardiac arrest survivorship not only encompasses patients; but also includes the people who care for the survivors of cardiac arrest. This study investigated sleep disturbances in close family members of cardiac arrest survivors.
The full line-up is as follows:
Original Research Papers
- GLP-1 Receptor Agonist in Nonobese Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction
- Editorial: HFpEF Without Obesity: Fallen Off the Radar?
- Coronary Artery Calcium for Risk Stratification of Heart Failure Mortality: The Coronary Artery Calcium Consortium
- Disruptions in Sleep Health and Independent Associations with Psychological Distress in Close Family Members of Cardiac Arrest Survivors: A Prospective Study
- Utility of Mechanistic Target of Rapamycin Inhibitors in Cardiac Sarcoidosis
- Editorial: Cardiac Sarcoidosis: A Target of Rapamycin?
- Genetic Testing Practices and Pathological Assessments in Patients With End-stage Heart Failure Undergoing Heart Transplantation and Left Ventricular Assist Device Use
State-of-the-Art-Review
Perspectives
- The Role of Heart Failure Physicians in the Contemporary Cardiac Intensive Care Unit: Impact on Heart Failure as a Career Choice Among Fellowship Applicants
- Reimagining Heart Failure Care: Highlights from ACC 2025
Brief Reports
- Don’t Count them Out: Recruitment Strategies for Older Adults with Heart Failure
- Efficacy of GLP-1 Receptor Agonists in Patients with Heart Failure and Mildly Reduced or Preserved Ejection Fraction: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
- Changes in Stressed Blood Volume with Endovascular Ablation of the Right Greater Splanchnic Nerve in Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction: The REBALANCE-HF Trial
- Reprieve System for the Treatment of Patients with Acute Decompensated Heart Failure
Research Letter
JCF Ignite!
Letter to the Editor
- Reconsidering the Clinical Integration of Lipoprotein(a) in Heart Failure Risk Models
- Response to the Letter to the Editor: Response to Letter to the Editor by He et al
HFSA Society Page
View the full issue online. For interviews with authors, please contact Laura Poko at lpoko@hfsa.org.
About the Journal of Cardiac Failure
The Journal of Cardiac Failure (JCF) publishes the highest quality science in the field of heart failure with a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion, mentorship, multidisciplinary partnerships, and patient-centeredness. Published papers span original investigator-initiated work to state-of-the-art reviews, guidelines and scientific statements, expert perspectives, early career and trainee spotlight pieces, patient and patient-partner narratives. JCF also emphasizes the power of language and prioritizes innovative approaches to dissemination of published work to reach and impact the broader heart failure community.
About the Heart Failure Society of America
The Heart Failure Society of America, Inc. (HFSA) represents the first organized effort by heart failure experts from the Americas to provide a forum for all those interested in heart function, heart failure, and congestive heart failure (CHF) research and patient care. The mission of HFSA is to provide a platform to improve and expand heart failure care through collaboration, education, innovation, research, and advocacy. HFSA members include physicians, scientists, nurses, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, trainees, other healthcare workers and patients. For more information, visit hfsa.org.
Media Contact: Laura Poko, 301-798-4493, ext. 226, lpoko@hfsa.org