Professor Du Xin: Complex Heart Failure and Cardiomyopathy Specialist
Professor Du Xin is a senior cardiologist, professor, doctoral supervisor, and director of the Heart Failure and Cardiomyopathy Center at Beijing Anzhen Hospital. Her clinical and academic work focuses on complex heart failure, cardiomyopathy, atrial fibrillation associated with heart failure, evidence-based treatment, clinical quality improvement, and long-term cardiovascular disease management.
Clinical and Academic Focus
- heart failure with reduced ejection fraction;
- heart failure with preserved or mildly reduced ejection fraction;
- dilated and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy;
- atrial fibrillation with heart failure;
- recurrent hospitalization and fluid overload;
- guideline-directed medical therapy;
- advanced heart-failure assessment;
- multidisciplinary long-term management; and
- second opinions for complex or unexplained heart failure.
Understanding Heart Failure
Heart failure means the heart cannot pump or fill well enough to meet the body’s needs without elevated pressure. Symptoms can include breathlessness, fatigue, leg swelling, abdominal fullness, reduced exercise capacity, rapid weight gain, or difficulty lying flat.
It is a clinical syndrome rather than a single disease. Common causes include coronary disease, hypertension, valve disease, cardiomyopathy, arrhythmia, inflammation, congenital disease, toxins, and metabolic or endocrine disorders.
Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction
Reduced-ejection-fraction heart failure is treated with a combination of evidence-based medicines that may include an ARNI, ACE inhibitor or ARB, beta blocker, mineralocorticoid-receptor antagonist, and SGLT2 inhibitor when appropriate.
Additional treatment can include diuretics, iron replacement, rhythm management, revascularization, valve treatment, cardiac resynchronization, an ICD, mechanical support, or transplantation.
Medicines are introduced and adjusted according to blood pressure, kidney function, potassium, heart rate, symptoms, and tolerance. Patients should not change treatment without their cardiac team.
Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction
Patients can have heart failure even when the ejection fraction is normal. Diagnosis requires evidence of elevated filling pressure or structural and functional abnormalities, not symptoms alone.
Treatment addresses congestion and contributing conditions such as hypertension, obesity, diabetes, atrial fibrillation, kidney disease, sleep apnea, coronary disease, and valve disease.
Dilated Cardiomyopathy
Dilated cardiomyopathy causes enlargement and weakening of the heart muscle. Evaluation may include coronary assessment, cardiac MRI, viral and autoimmune testing, toxin and medication review, genetic testing, and family screening.
Some patients recover substantially with treatment, especially when the cause is reversible. Others need long-term medicine, device therapy, or advanced-heart-failure evaluation.
Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is often inherited and can cause breathlessness, chest pain, fainting, atrial fibrillation, or sudden cardiac death. Assessment should include obstruction, fibrosis, arrhythmias, family history, and genetic counseling.
Treatment may involve medicine, septal reduction, rhythm treatment, anticoagulation, an ICD, and family screening.
Atrial Fibrillation and Heart Failure
Atrial fibrillation can worsen heart failure through a rapid or irregular rhythm and loss of coordinated atrial contraction. Heart failure can also promote AF through pressure and atrial enlargement.
Management can include anticoagulation, rate or rhythm control, cardioversion, catheter ablation, and optimization of heart-failure therapy. The best strategy depends on symptoms, AF duration, heart function, atrial size, and comorbid disease.
Recurrent Hospitalization and Quality of Care
Professor Du has led and contributed to major Chinese heart-failure registries, including HERO, examining real-world treatment and the gap between evidence and practice.
Reducing hospitalization requires medication optimization, daily weight and symptom monitoring, nutrition and sodium guidance, vaccination, rehabilitation, clear follow-up, and rapid response to early deterioration.
Advanced Heart Failure
Patients with repeated admissions, low blood pressure, worsening kidney or liver function, intolerance of standard medicine, severe exercise limitation, or recurrent ventricular arrhythmias may need advanced assessment.
Options can include specialized drug therapy, CRT, ICD treatment, valve or coronary intervention, ventricular-assist devices, palliative symptom support, or heart transplantation in selected patients.
Who May Consider a Consultation?
- patients with newly diagnosed or worsening heart failure;
- patients hospitalized repeatedly despite treatment;
- patients with dilated, hypertrophic, or unexplained cardiomyopathy;
- patients with heart failure and atrial fibrillation;
- patients unable to tolerate guideline-directed medicines;
- patients considering CRT, ICD, mechanical support, or transplantation;
- families needing genetic cardiomyopathy assessment; or
- patients seeking a second opinion on prognosis and long-term management.
Medical Records to Prepare
- a concise symptom and hospitalization timeline;
- echocardiography and cardiac MRI in original format;
- ECGs and prolonged rhythm-monitoring reports;
- coronary imaging and right-heart catheterization when available;
- exercise, cardiopulmonary, and walking-test results;
- recent kidney, liver, electrolyte, blood-count, thyroid, iron, and cardiac-biomarker results;
- genetic and family-screening reports when relevant;
- daily blood pressure, heart rate, weight, and symptom records;
- a complete medication history with doses and side effects; and
- a clear list of functional and treatment goals.
Planning an International Consultation
Severe breathlessness at rest, chest pain, fainting, confusion, cold extremities, very low blood pressure, or rapid fluid accumulation requires immediate local emergency care.
Stable patients should confirm whether original cardiac imaging and hospitalization records can be reviewed. Remote medical-record review requires physician authorization. Final treatment, device, mechanical-support, or transplant eligibility requires full in-person assessment.
How CMCS Can Assist
CMCS – China Medical Concierge Shanghai is an independent medical concierge and health management company, not a hospital. We assist international patients with organizing and translating heart-failure records, identifying an appropriate specialist, requesting appointment availability, arranging interpretation, and planning medical travel in China.
Access to Professor Du, remote review, admission, device treatment, mechanical support, or transplantation is subject to doctor and hospital approval. CMCS does not guarantee appointments, treatment eligibility, donor organs, or clinical outcomes.
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Important Note
Doctor titles, clinical roles, medicines, devices, transplant policy, and appointment arrangements may change. This profile is based on the supplied verified research document and is for general information only. It does not replace assessment by a qualified heart-failure team.
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