Alanna Morris, MD, MSc, joins Craig Beavers, PharmD, to discuss the 2026 ACC HFpEF pathway, foundational therapy, and where pharmacists fit in.
In this episode of The Tell-Tale Heart podcast, Alanna Morris, MD, MSc, a heart failure cardiologist and executive medical director at US Medical Affairs at Bayer, discussed the 2026 American College of Cardiology (ACC) Expert Consensus Decision Pathway (ECDP) for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) with host Craig Beavers, PharmD, FACC, FAHA, FCCP, BCCP, BCPS (AQ-Cardiology), CACP. The experts also highlight the upcoming Heart Failure Society of America Annual Scientific Meeting 2026, taking place October 9–12 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Dr. Morris and Dr. Beavers discuss the 2026 American College of Cardiology (ACC) expert consensus decision pathway for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. You can read the report here.
About the Guest
Alanna Morris, MD, MSc, is a heart failure cardiologist and the Executive Medical Director, US Medical Affairs, at Bayer.
Morris described HFpEF as a multisystem syndrome rather than simple diastolic dysfunction, shaped by the kidneys, obesity-related inflammation, and skeletal muscle. She urged clinicians to place HFpEF high on the differential for patients with exertional dyspnea and comorbidities such as obesity, hypertension, diabetes, atrial fibrillation, and chronic kidney disease and cautioned that obesity can lower natriuretic peptide levels. Consistent with the ECDP, she treats an sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitor plus the nonsteroidal mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist finerenone as foundational therapy unless contraindicated, initiated without delay, and adds a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist for patients with HFpEF and obesity.
Acknowledging her Bayer affiliation, she noted that FINEARTS-HF (NCT04435626) met its primary end point, whereas TOPCAT (NCT00094302) did not. She said the evidence is no longer the main obstacle; prior authorizations, formulary restrictions, and access are. Morris also cautioned clinicians against assuming what patients can afford and described pharmacists as essential partners in team-based HFpEF care.
