The ESCAPE Discharge Risk Score: Don't Go Home without It

INTERMACS Profiles of Advanced Heart Failure: The Current Picture

“…The latest score, the ESCAPE Discharge Risk Score, derives from re-evaluation of patients with chronic severe disease, after therapy has been optimized during heart failure hospitalization. 7 However, none of these scores derive from populations that are truly parallel to the contemporary VAD candidates. The additional components of frequent arrhythmias have not been defined separately.…”

On the Fledgling Field of Mechanical Circulatory Support⁎⁎Editorials published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiologyreflect the views of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of JACCor the American College of Cardiology.

“…The impact of age is likely to remain profound, as in the REMATCH trial; for patients under 60 years, the 1-year survivals were 74% with device and 33% without, whereas they were 47% and 15% for older patients (1). More recent data at discharge from hospitalization for advanced heart failure led to the ESCAPE (Evaluation Study of Congestive Heart Failure and Pulmonary Artery Catheterization Effectiveness) discharge risk score (8), which includes systolic blood pressure, blood urea nitrogen, serum sodium, beta-blocker use, 6-min walk, B-type natriuretic peptide, recent need for resuscitation, and loop diuretic dose. Prospective multicenter validation of risk scores specifically for late-stage heart failure is crucial to provide benchmarks past which to advance the field.…”