Heart Failure 2026: What to Expect in Barcelona

Heart Failure (HF) 2026, the annual meeting led by the European Society of Cardiology’s Heart Failure Association, is set to take place May 9-12 in Barcelona, Spain, featuring the science and concepts driving this rapidly evolving field.

I’ll be there on-site to cover the latest data as well as any discussions that arise as HF specialists chart the way forward. If you have anything you’d like to share, you can reach out to me via email or say hello in person.

The event includes no fewer than seven late-breaking sessions, plus numerous moderated ePoster and abstract sessions, hands-on training sessions, and debates. A new feature this year is the Future Frontiers in Heart Failure Hub, which highlights innovations in progress that may ultimately influence patient care. Additionally, the HF Unplugged Rooms will offer 20 workshops that make space for active discussions on scientific topics and career building.

“Heart failure management has been advancing steadily over the years, but we are now seeing a rapid rate of change in the field,” Antoni Bayes Genis, MD, PhD (Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, Barcelona), co-chair of the meeting’s scientific program, said in a press release. “We chose the theme of ‘Evolution in heart failure’ to capture this progress and reflect the huge steps forward being made in our understanding of the condition and in the development of new diagnostics, medical treatments and devices, and wearables for monitoring.”

Day 1 of the meeting, Saturday, May 9, features two late-breaking sessions.

The first, Innovations in Heart Failure Management, includes the UF-CARE study of ultrafiltration in type 2 cardiorenal syndrome, data from the TRANSFORM-HF study on diuretic resistance, an exploration of cancer patients with acute HF, the TIM-HF3 trial looking at voice-based prediction of HF hospitalization, and an introduction to the CARDIO-TTRansform trial in patients with transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy.

That afternoon, the Hottest Trials (1) session offers up SUBCUT HF II, studying subcutaneous furosemide to support early discharge after HF admission, as well as the REDOX-AHF trial of restrictive versus liberal oxygenation targets in acute HF. Results will be presented from the Re-PHIRE trial, which is studying the relaxin mimetic AZD3427 in HF patients with pulmonary hypertension; the PRAISE-MR trial of sacubitril-valsartan in patients who have both heart failure with preserved ejection fraction and secondary mitral valve regurgitation; and CONDUCT-AF, comparing conduction system versus biventricular pacing after atrioventricular node ablation.

On Sunday, May 10, three late-breaking sessions are scheduled.

Advanced Therapies in Heart Failure is set to include data on implantable cardioverter-defibrillators in heart failure, the C-MIC II Follow-Up Study, the eLYM system for lymphatic decongestion, survival among middle-aged and older patients with advanced HF, and the inhibition of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system and hemocompatibility with left ventricular assist devices.

Following that, the Hottest Trials (2) session involves two presentations from the DECISION trial of low-dose digoxin; new findings from the DIGIT-HF trial on digitoxin in patients who have HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF); a study-level meta-analysis of DECISION, DIGIT-HF, and DIG data; and the HF-REVERT trial of the microRNA inhibitor CDR132L in patients with reduced LVEF after MI.

The third session, called Advances in Heart Failure Detection and Therapy, includes quite a variety of topics: an exploration of obesity and natriuretic peptides in the PORTHOS study; the GRASP-HF study; a randomized trial of AC01, an oral inotrope, in HFrEF patients; an investigation into the impact of electronic health record-based nudges or pharmacy services on guideline-directed medical therapy in HFrEF; and high inflammatory risk across the EF spectrum in the POSEIDON trial.

Monday, May 11, features the last two late-breaking sessions—there are none on the last day of the meeting.

That morning kicks off with Trials, Trends, and Global Insights. The session features a comparison of weight- versus diuresis/natriuresis-guided strategies in acute HF; the NET-COST-HFrEF network meta-analysis of cost-effectiveness in HFrEF; insights on acute HF in Africa from the THESUS-HF II study; and trends in treatment and outcomes from Australia’s NEDA study.

Last up, the Advances in Cardiomyopathies session offers presentations on sTTR variability and outcomes in ATTR-CM; the use of BHB/HRS-1893 in nonobstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy; the RESOLVE-HCM trial of perhexiline; dose-dependent effects in the MAPLE-HCM trial; and outpatient worsening HF in the ATTRibute-CM trial.

Stay tuned for TCTMD’s coverage of Heart Failure 2026. News can be found online here as it goes live starting May 11.