The EuroHeart Failure survey programme—a survey on the quality of care among patients with heart failure in Europe Part 1: patient characteristics and diagnosis

Abstract

Known or suspected heart failure comprises a large proportion of admissions to medical wards and such patients are at high risk of early readmission and death. Many of the basic investigations recommended by the ESC were usually carried out, although it is not clear whether this was by design or part of a general routine for all patients being admitted regardless of diagnosis. The investigation most specific for patients with suspected heart failure (echocardiography) was performed less frequently, suggesting that the diagnosis of heart failure is still relatively neglected. Most men but a minority of women who underwent investigation of cardiac function had evidence of moderate or severe left ventricular dysfunction, the main target of current advances in the treatment of heart failure. Considerable diagnostic uncertainty remains for many patients with suspected heart failure, even after echocardiography, which must be resolved in order to target existing and new therapies and services effectively.

Advanced chronic heart failure: A position statement from the Study Group on Advanced Heart Failure of the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology

“…Recent studies, however, have shown that up to 30%-50% of patients admitted with acute HF may have preserved LVEF [14,15,[18][19][20][21]. Patients with preserved LVEF have a high rate of rehospitalisation and a similar, or only slightly lower, mortality, compared to patients with low LVEF [14,15].…”

Fatigue is a Prevalent and Severe Symptom Associated with Uncertainty and Sense of Coherence in Patients with Chronic Heart Failure

“…Cerebral symptoms, such as mood changes and intellectual impairment are also common in advanced stages of heart failure (Braunwald et al, 2001;Swedberg et al, 2005). The symptoms may be used to classify the severity of heart failure but often there is a poor relationship between the symptoms and the severity of cardiac dysfunction (Cleland et al, 2003). Resent research shows that left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), an important and widely used prognostic variable, is of less importance for predicting outcome in comparison with patients' self-reported symptoms (Ekman et al, 2007).…”

Potential role for clinical calibration to increase engagement with and application of home telemonitoring: a report from the HeartCycle programme

“…What is more, in Europe, 24% of patients are readmitted within 12 weeks of discharge 2. Some of the most common causes of readmission are deficient treatment adherence, no or too‐late identification of disease destabilization signs, and hospital discharge without complete resolution of congestion 3.…”