Heart Failure Often Goes Unrecognized—Until It Requires Hospitalization

Elena Fraser
May 29
2 min read

Heart failure (HF) remains one of the most pressing public health challenges in the United States, affecting more than 6 million adults and contributing to over 380,000 deaths annually (CDC, 2023). Despite increasing awareness and significant medical advancements, most people are still diagnosed with heart failure only after a serious event, often during a hospitalization.

The Missed Opportunity of Early Detection

Research shows that more than 60% of patients receive their first diagnosis of heart failure in the hospital, often after presenting with acute symptoms such as shortness of breath, swelling, or fatigue that has become unmanageable (Blecker et al., 2019). By the time they are diagnosed, many of these patients have already experienced significant structural or functional damage to the heart.

This late diagnosis represents a missed opportunity not only for patients but also for the health system. Heart failure is a progressive condition. With timely identification and guideline-directed medical therapy, disease progression can be delayed, quality of life improved, and hospitalizations reduced (Yancy et al., 2017). Yet most cases remain undetected in earlier, more treatable stages.

Why Are So Many Diagnoses Delayed?

There are several reasons why heart failure often goes undiagnosed until hospitalization:

Non-specific early symptoms like fatigue or mild shortness of breath, which can also be attributed to aging or other conditions.
Limited access to specialists. Especially in rural areas, this creates long wait times for cardiology referrals, sometimes over 50 days (Xu et al., 2022).
Primary care constraints and a lack of advanced diagnostic tools during routine visits can make early detection difficult.

As a result, heart failure continues to be one of the leading causes of hospitalization in adults over age 65 (Virani et al., 2023), costing the U.S. healthcare system billions annually and often leading to poorer long-term outcomes for patients.

How DigiBeat Can Fill the Gap

DigiBeat is addressing this critical gap in cardiac care by enabling patients to perform clinical-grade heart exams from the comfort of their homes. Using our multimodal digital Ara device and spatially-aware sensing, DigiBeat empowers early detection through cartometric cardiography. A method that precisely screens for changes in cardiac performance through mapped electrical and mechanical signals from the heart.

For patients, this means earlier identification of troubling changes before they escalate into hospital-level emergencies. For providers, it delivers structured, actionable data that can guide timely interventions.

In an environment where delayed diagnoses are the norm, DigiBeat brings proactive monitoring and patient-centered care to the forefront. Helping shift heart failure discovery from hospitals to the home.

References

Blecker, S., Paul, M., Taksler, G., Ogedegbe, G., & Katz, S. (2019). Heart failure–associated hospitalizations in the United States. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 73(9), 1110–1116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2018.11.058
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2023). Heart failure facts. https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/heart_failure.htm
Virani, S. S., et al. (2023). Heart disease and stroke statistics—2023 update: A report from the American Heart Association. Circulation, 147(8), e93–e210. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIR.0000000000001127
Xu, H., et al. (2022). Wait times for outpatient cardiology appointments in the U.S.: Disparities and trends. Journal of the American Heart Association, 11(1), e023456. https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.121.023456
Yancy, C. W., et al. (2017). 2017 ACC/AHA/HFSA focused update of the 2013 ACCF/AHA guideline for the management of heart failure. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 70(6), 776–803. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2017.04.025