Seeing a cardiologist regularly can significantly improve the chances of survival for people with heart failure, according to a large study published in the European Heart Journal and presented at the Heart Failure Congress 2025.
The research, led by Dr. Guillaume Baudry and Professor Nicolas Girerd from the Clinical Investigation Center of Nancy University Hospital in France, suggests that regular cardiology appointments can greatly reduce the risk of death and hospitalization for heart failure patients.
Despite this, only about three out of five people with heart failure actually see a cardiologist at least once a year.
Heart failure occurs when the heart is not able to pump blood effectively, which can lead to symptoms like fatigue, shortness of breath, and fluid buildup.
While it is a serious condition, proper treatment and management can help patients live longer and healthier lives.
However, the study found that many heart failure patients are not seeing specialists who could help them manage their condition better.
Dr. Baudry explained that heart failure patients are not always seen by a cardiologist, even though these specialists can help manage symptoms and improve outcomes. The study set out to find if certain criteria could identify which patients would benefit the most from regular visits to a cardiologist.
To do this, the research team analyzed data from all heart failure patients living in France who were diagnosed in the five years leading up to January 2020. This included 655,919 people, whose information was collected from national health records.
The researchers divided the patients into different groups based on their medical history. They considered whether the patients had been hospitalized for heart failure in the past year or the past five years and whether they were taking diuretics—medications that help the body remove excess fluid and reduce blood pressure. Diuretics are often used to manage heart failure symptoms.
The results showed that two out of every five patients did not see a cardiologist at all during the year. Those who did see a specialist had a significantly lower risk of dying from any cause and were less likely to be hospitalized for heart failure in the following year. The data was clear: regular cardiology check-ups were linked to better survival rates.
To better understand how often patients should see a cardiologist, the researchers created a model based on hospitalization history and diuretic use. Their findings suggest that patients who have not been hospitalized recently and are not taking diuretics should see a cardiologist once a year. This alone could reduce their risk of death from 13% to 6.7% over the next year.
For patients who had not been hospitalized but were taking diuretics, seeing a cardiologist two or three times per year reduced their risk of death from 21.3% to 11.9%. Patients who had been hospitalized in the past five years (but not in the last year) also benefited from two to three visits annually, cutting their risk from 24.8% to 12.9%.
The most dramatic improvement was seen in patients who had been hospitalized within the last year. For these individuals, four cardiologist visits per year reduced their risk of death from 34.3% to 18.2%. These findings suggest that cardiology follow-up should be a routine part of heart failure care, much like oncology follow-up is for cancer patients.
Dr. Baudry noted that the study, being observational, cannot conclusively prove that seeing a cardiologist causes these improvements. However, the strong association suggests that specialist care may be key to better outcomes.
He added that many heart failure patients do not receive cardiology care, especially older adults, women, and those with other chronic illnesses like diabetes or lung disease.
Professor Girerd echoed these thoughts, explaining that many heart failure patients are managed only by primary care doctors, who may not always have the resources or expertise to provide specialized heart failure treatments.
He suggested that referrals to cardiologists should be more routine for heart failure patients, much like cancer patients are automatically referred to oncologists.
Interestingly, the study also revealed gender differences in cardiology care. In a separate presentation at the Heart Failure Congress 2025, the researchers showed that 33.8% of women with heart failure did not see a cardiologist within a year, compared to 27.9% of men.
Women were also less likely to receive certain heart medications, such as RAS inhibitors, which help lower blood pressure. Despite this, women had slightly better outcomes in terms of survival and hospitalizations compared to men. The reasons for this are not entirely clear, but the findings suggest that women may have different risk factors or respond differently to treatments.
The researchers now plan to test their findings in a clinical trial to confirm whether seeing a cardiologist more regularly directly improves survival rates. They also hope to explore how these findings apply to other countries with different healthcare systems.
An editorial by Professor Lars Lund from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, published alongside the study, praised the findings. He pointed out that heart failure treatment has come a long way since the first heart transplant in 1967, with many effective therapies now available.
However, many patients are not receiving this care. Lund expressed concern that many countries are moving heart failure patients away from specialist care to primary care, which may not be equipped to handle the complexities of heart failure management.
The study’s findings are a wake-up call for health systems around the world. Ensuring that heart failure patients receive regular cardiology care could save many lives, reduce hospitalizations, and improve the quality of life for millions of people.
It also highlights the need to close the gap in care for women and older patients, who are less likely to receive specialized heart care despite their needs.
The research team believes that two simple criteria—recent hospitalizations and diuretic use—can help identify which patients need more frequent cardiologist visits. This approach does not require expensive tests and can be easily applied in any country, making it a practical solution for improving heart failure care worldwide.
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The research findings can be found in European Heart Journal.
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