An increasing need for well-trained advanced heart failure and transplant cardiologists in Japan

Abstract

The number of people diagnosed with heart failure (HF) is increasing. Current therapies improve survival for HF with reduced ejection fraction, but a result has been to increase the number of HF patients who progress to advanced disease. Heart transplantation (HTx) offers the best survival for patients with end-stage heart failure. However, with the scarcity of donor organs, the waiting time to transplant continues to lengthen, leading to an increase in the proportion of patients with a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) in Japan. As is widely known, serial assessment of evaluating patients’ candidacy, managing long-term LVAD therapy and intensive perioperative/long-term treatment after HTx are essential to achieve a favorable prognosis. The amount of specialized knowledge and skill required to care for the growing number of patients with HF, including those who require mechanical circulatory supports and/or cardiac transplantation. Accordingly, there is an increasing need for well-trained cardiologists to manage these complex patients.