Podcast: Identifying Early Warning Signs of Heart Failure

Dr. Jay N. Cohn, founder and first president of the Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA), discusses the relationship between heart failure and women, the role of a primary care physician, and his focus on identifying early warning signs of heart disease and heart failure (ie, the Rasmussen test series).

When talking about the Rasmussen test series, Dr. Cohn said, "We introduced this program called the Rasmussen [test series] about 10 years ago because of my conviction that we were waiting too late to treat progressive disease which could be identified earlier. And rather than waiting for patients to become symptomatic, we began screening healthy individuals who had some concerns about their potential for future cardiovascular disease. We utilized a series of tests to determine the health of the large arteries, the small arteries, and the heart. These tests are all done in one room, in one hour, by one technologist, so they are quite efficiently performed. In our hands, they seem to have been remarkably effective in identifying those patients who may go on to develop symptomatic cardiovascular disease including heart failure and coronary symptoms, peripheral vascular symptoms."