In the latest episode of Heart Failure Beat, the guest editors of the November Journal of Cardiac Failure (JCF) Focus Issue on Hemodynamics—Drs. Susanna Mak, Daniel Burkhoff, and Mark Belkin—come together to reflect on why now is the perfect time to refocus the field of heart failure on its physiological roots.

For decades, hemodynamics has been the language through which cardiologists understand the heart. Yet as medical education and technology have evolved, many clinicians have drifted from these fundamentals. This episode—and the focus issue it highlights—aims to change that.

The editors discuss how hemodynamics is experiencing a resurgence, not as an abstract academic exercise, but as a practical, clinical tool that helps physicians see heart failure with new clarity. They describe how concepts like pressure-volume loops, once thought to be too complex for everyday use, are being reintroduced through modern education and technology in ways that are both accessible and clinically powerful.

The conversation explores the issue’s wide-ranging content—from studies that simplify exercise hemodynamics and passive leg raise testing, to investigations into high-output heart failure and ECMO hemodynamics. The editors share how these papers make hemodynamics approachable while also tackling long-standing clinical questions that still spark debate in cath labs and ICUs today.

What makes this issue and episode especially engaging is its human side. The editors highlight new early-career and trainee spotlights, along with a patient perspective piece that sheds light on how individuals experience right heart catheterization—reminding us that physiology is always personal.

Ultimately, this discussion is a call to action for cardiologists to revisit the physiologic principles that form the foundation of heart failure care. As the editors note, understanding hemodynamics not only enhances patient outcomes but also reignites curiosity—the same curiosity that drew many of us into cardiology in the first place.
Tune in to this episode of Heart Failure Beat to explore how re-embracing hemodynamics is helping redefine the future of heart failure diagnosis, research, and education.