Heart Failure in Primary Care

Program Information

Cohort Series | Offered Annually | 6-sessions | 12-1 PM Pacific Time

This ECHO program aims to strengthen primary care providers’ ability to identify, manage, and optimize care for patients with heart failure by guiding participants through an introduction to Project ECHO and the 2026 heart failure landscape, updates on new and emerging therapies for HFrEF and HFpEF, guideline-directed management strategies for both conditions, recognition of less common causes of heart failure, and best practices for timely referral. Participants will also have the opportunity to engage in case-based learning to apply evidence-based concepts to real clinical scenarios.

Our Team

• Lorrel Brown Toft, M.D. Dr. Toft, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine and is a practicing clinical cardiologist at Carson-Tahoe Medical Center. She is a graduate of the University of California, Irvine with a BS in Biology (summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa) and received her M.D. from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 2007 (Alpha Omega Alpha). She completed her internal medicine residency training at Johns Hopkins in 2010 and was selected to serve as Assistant Chief of Service/chief resident. She then completed her cardiology fellowship training at Johns Hopkins and joined the faculty at the University of Louisville in 2014.
• Karen Thiele, M.D. Dr. Thiele is an Assistant Professor of Department of Family and Community Medicine. She completed her residency in Family and Community Medicine from University of Nevada, Reno in 2019. She enjoys the broad scope of practice of a family doctor and has patients that encompass all ages and stages of life including obstetrics. Her special interests include primary care of the LGBT+ community, providing cross gender hormone therapy for gender diverse patients, women's reproductive health, PrEP, and wilderness medicine.

Continuing Medical Education (CME) Accreditation

The University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine designates this Live Activity for a maximum of 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits^TM. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

The University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine approves this program for 1.0 hour of nursing continuing education credit. Nevada State Board of Nursing provider number 120894-1.

The University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine is a provider of continuing education credit through the Nevada State Board of Pharmacy.  This program is approved for 1 hours of continuing education credit for pharmacists.

Presenter Disclosures

As an accredited provider of continuing medical education through the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine must ensure balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor in all its educational activities. In order to assure that information is presented in a scientific and objective manner, The University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine requires that anyone in a position to control or influence the content of an accredited activity disclose all financial relationships within the prior 24 months with any commercial or proprietary entity producing health care goods or services relevant to the content being planned or presented. All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated. Following are those disclosures.

All presenters, planners or anyone in a position to control the content of this continuing medical education activity have indicated that neither they nor their spouse/legally recognized domestic partner has any financial relationships with commercial interests related to the content of this activity.