Heart Failure Quality of Care in the Outpatient Cardiology Practice Setting: A Report from IMPROVE HF

Association between process quality measures for heart failure and mortality among US veterans

“…The high rate of ACEI/ARB use in our nationwide sample of VHA hospitals at 87% to 89% is comparable to previous reports in the civilian sector of 80% to 88% 4,19 for inpatients and 80% to 86% rate for outpatients (Projects PINNACLE and IMPROVE). 9,10,25 Contrary to expectations, chart documentation of LV function, despite good adherence rates (98% inpatient and 83% for outpatient settings), was not related to mortality. Similarly, receipt of weight/medication instructions was either not related (eg, discharge instructions) or related to a slightly increased risk of death (eg, weight instructions before admission).…”

Hospital readmission in heart failure, a novel analysis of a longstanding problem

“…Aldosterone antagonists were prescribed to 36 % of eligible patients, while device therapy such as CRT or implantable cardioverterdefibrillators were used only 51 % of the time. Overall, patients received all potentially eligible outpatient therapies in a median of 27 % of cases [18].…”

A novel method to predict the proportional risk of sudden cardiac death in heart failure: Derivation of the Seattle Proportional Risk Model

“…The lack of a more nuanced selection tool for physicians to use when counseling patients is reflected in the poor ICD compliance rates. 3 Consequently, better identification of patients who are likely to benefit from this potentially lifesaving therapy is an important area of ongoing investigation. 4,5 The Seattle Heart Failure Model (SHFM) is a validated multivariate model originally developed to predict all-cause mortality in the population with heart failure using commonly available clinical and demographic variables.…”