Abstract 75: Practice-level Variation in use of Recommended Medications among Outpatients with Heart Failure: Insights from the NCDR PINNACLE Program

Author(s):  
Pamela N Peterson ◽  
Paul S Chan ◽  
John A Spertus ◽  
Fengming Tang ◽  
Phil Jones ◽  
...  

Background: Beta-blockers (BB) and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE)/angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB) are guideline recommended therapies for ambulatory heart failure patients with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (HFREF). Real-world use of these therapies is suboptimal. Whether variations in treatment are dominated by practice-level or patient-level factors is unknown. Methods: Practices participating in the NCDR PINNACLE program, a national office-based cardiac quality improvement registry, between July 2008 and December 2010 were evaluated. Rates of treatment with BB and ACE/ARB were evaluated in patients with HFREF (EF ≤40%) and no documented contraindication. Multivariable hierarchical relative risk regression models, including demographics, insurance status, comorbidities and a random effect for practice were used to determine 1) patient-level and 2) practice-level variation in treatment rates. To quantify practice-level variation, the median rate ratio (MRR) was calculated, which estimates the typical rate ratio between two randomly selected practices for patients with identical covariates. In general, MRRs ≥ 1.2 indicate significant variation by practice. The MRR is always >1.0 but can be compared in magnitude to patient-level risks. Results: We studied 12384 patients in 45 practices. The mean practice rate for BB treatment was 87% (IQR 83%-95%; range: 43%-100%), and the mean practice rate of ACE/ARB treatment was 90% (IQR 75%-88%; range: 18%-100%). The MRR was 1.09 for BB and 1.16 for ACE/ARB therapy. For both BB and ACE/ARB, the adjusted MRR for site level variation was larger than the rate ratio for other patient factors. (Table) Conclusions: Although rates of BB and ACE/ARB treatment among outpatients with HFREF are high, clinically meaningful variation by practice is present and explains a larger amount of the observed variance than any patient characteristic. This suggests that addressing practice-level factors represents an important opportunity to improve the use of evidence-based HF therapy.

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 578-586 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Paula da Conceição ◽  
Mariana Alvina dos Santos ◽  
Bernardo dos Santos ◽  
Diná de Almeida Lopes Monteiro da Cruz

AbstractObjective: to describe self-care behavior and its associated factors in a sample of heart failure Brazilian patients.Method: descriptive cross-sectional study with non-probabilistic sample of 116 ambulatory patients undergoing heart failure treatment. Self-care was evaluated using the Self-Care of Heart Failure Index, (scores ≥70 points=appropriate self-care). Association tests were applied, considering a descriptive level of 0.05.Results: the mean age of participants was 57.7 (SD =11.3) years; 54.3% were male; the mean schooling was 5.5 (SD = 4.0) years; and 74.1% had functional class II-III. The mean scores on the subscales of the Self-Care of Heart Failure Index indicated inappropriate self-care (self-care maintenance: 53.2 (SD =14.3), selfcare management: 50.0 (SD = 20.3) and self-care confidence: 52.6 (SD=22.7)) and it was found low frequencies of participants with appropriate self-care (self-care maintenance, 6.9%), self-care management (14.7%) and self-care confidence (19%). Higher scores of the Self-Care of Heart Failure Index were associated with: reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (p=0.001), longer time of experience with the disease (p=0.05) and joint monitoring by physician and nurse (p=0.007).Conclusion: investments are needed to improve the self-care behavior and the nursing can play a relevant role in this improvement.


Author(s):  
Parisa Gholami ◽  
Shoutzu Lin ◽  
Paul Heidenreich

Background: BNP testing is now common though it is not clear if the test results are used to improve patient care. A high BNP may be an indicator that the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) is low (<40%) such that the patient will benefit from life-prolonging therapy. Objective: To determine how often clinicians obtained a measure of LVEF (echocardiography, nuclear) following a high BNP value when the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was not known to be low (<40%). Methods and Results: We reviewed the medical records of 296 consecutive patients (inpatient or outpatient) with a BNP values of at least 200 pg/ml at a single medical center (tertiary hospital with 8 community clinics). A prior diagnosis of heart failure was made in 65%, while 42% had diabetes, 79% had hypertension, 59% had ischemic heart disease and 31% had chronic lung disease. The mean age was 73 ± 12 years, 75% were white, 10% black, 15% other and the mean BNP was 810 ± 814 pg/ml. The LVEF was known to be < 40% in 84 patients (28%, mean BNP value of 1094 ± 969 pg/ml). Of the remaining 212 patients without a known low LVEF, 161 (76%) had a prior LVEF >=40% ( mean BNP value of 673 ± 635 pg/ml), and 51 (24%) had no prior LVEF documented (mean BNP 775 ± 926 pg/ml). Following the high BNP, a measure of LVEF was obtained (including outside studies documented by the primary care provider) within 6 months in only 53% (113 of 212) of those with an LVEF not known to be low. Of those with a follow-up echocardiogram, the LVEF was <40% in 18/113 (16%) and >=40% in 95/113 (84%). There was no significant difference in mean initial BNP values between those with a follow-up LVEF <40% (872 ± 940pg/ml), >=40% (704 ± 737 pg/ml), or not done (661 ± 649 pg/ml, p=0.5). Conclusions: Follow-up measures of LVEF did not occur in almost 50% of patients with a high BNP where the information may have led to institution of life-prolonging therapy. Of those that did have a follow-up study a new diagnosis of depressesd LVEF was noted in 16%. Screening of existing BNP and LVEF data and may be an efficient strategy to identify patients that may benefit from life-prolonging therapy for heart failure.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-17
Author(s):  
Mehmet Küçükosmanoğlu ◽  
Cihan Örem

Introduction: MPI is an echocardiographic parameter that exibit the left ventricular functions globally. NT-proBNP  is an important both diagnostic and prognostic factor in heart failure. In this study, we aimed to investigate the prognostic significance of serum NT-proBNP levels and MPI in patients with STEMI. Method: Totally 104 patients with a diagnosis of STEMI were included in the study. Patients followed for 30-days and questioned for presence of symptoms of heart failure (HF) and cardiac death. Patients were invited for outpatient control after 30-days and were divided into two groups: (HF (+) group) and (HF (-) group). Results: Totally 104 patients with STEMI were hospitalized in the coronary intensive care unit. Of those patients, 17 were female (16%), 87 were male (84%), and the mean age of the patients was 58.9±10.8 years. During the 30-day follow-up, 28 (27%) of 104 patients developed HF. The mean age, hypertension ratio and anterior STEMI rate were significantly higher in the HF (+) group compared to the HF (-) group. Ejection time (ET) and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) were significantly lower and MPI was significantly higher in the HF (+) group. When the values on day first and  sixth were compared, NT-ProBNP levels were decreased in both groups. There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of the change in MPI values on the first and sixth days. Multiple regression analysis showed that the presence of anterior MI, first day NT-proBNP level and LVEF were independently associated with development of HF and death. Conclusion: In our study, NT-proBNP levels were found to be positively associated with MPI in patients with acute STEMI. It was concluded that the level of NT-proBNP detected especially on the 1st day was more valuable than MPI in determining HF development and prognosis after STEMI.  


Blood ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 106 (11) ◽  
pp. 1331-1331
Author(s):  
Gerard Dine ◽  
Vincent Genty ◽  
Said Brahimi ◽  
Nadia Ali Ammar ◽  
William Mendes ◽  
...  

Abstract The potential cardiotoxicity of chemotherapic drugs is well known. For example anthracycline-based regimens are extremely effective for various hematological malignancies. The main disadvantage is cardiotoxicity particularly, in elderly patients who are frequently treated with a consequent dose reduction. The diagnosis and prognosis in patients with suspected heart failure needs a specific monitoring by echocardiography during and after chemotherapy regimens. We tested the interest of NT-proBNP as alternative marker for the detection of left ventricular dysfunction. Brain or B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and N-terminal fragment of B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) are considered to be valuable biomarkers for the detection of disease state in patients with suspected heart failure. Methods During 1 year, blood samples of 31 patients with hematological malignancies, treated with usual chemotherapy were selected on a routine basis. Patients had the diagnosis of acute leukemia (AL), B-chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL), multiple myeloma (MM) and non Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). Venous blood was drawn in the early morning and centrifuged at 2000 g for 15 minutes. The obtained clear plasma fraction was stored at −20°C until the assay. All plasma samples were analyzed for NT-proBNP using an electro chemiluminescence immuno assay (proBNP kit Roche Diagnostics, Mannheim, Germany) on Elecsys 2010 analyser. All assays were performed blind to clinical informations on the patients. Results The mean age of the patients was 72 (range: 36–88). There were 15 men (48 %) and 16 women (52 %). Five patients were smokers (16 %) and 7 (22.6%) had cardiovascular diseases (4 hypertension, 2 heart failure, 1 pace maker). Only 3 patients had a subnormal renal function. There were 6 patients with AL, 6 with B-CLL, 11 with MM and 8 with NHL. The administered medications were divided in 3 cardio-toxicity stages: 10 (32.25 %) patients received stage 3 cardiotoxicity regimens, 10 (32.25 %) stage 2 and 11 (35.5 %) stage 1. Fourteen patients (45 %) died in relation with hematological malignancies and none in relation with heart failure. But treatment regimens have been reduced, discontinued, modified or stopped in 7 patients after heart failure diagnosis with echocardiography. All these patients received stage 2 or 3 cardiotoxicity chemotherapy regimens and 4 had prior cardiovascular diseases. The mean age was 74 (range: 66–82). Only one patient is alive in this subgroup. Considering the age and the heart state of our 31 patients, chemotherapeutic treatments need or not to be adjust. The cardiac risk at diagnosis was assessed by left-ventricular ejection fraction (VEF) measurement. We shows that NT-proBNP brings reliable results to assess that risk, with a positive correlation to the VEF. Figure Figure Conclusion Despite the limitations of this preliminary study the measurement of the NT-proBNP concentration at baseline and during cardiotoxic regimens in patients with hematological malignancies seems to be a promising method to identify patients with an increased risk of cardiovascular adverse effects for it evolves earlier than VEF and is very well correlate to VEF loss and cardiotoxicity.


Circulation ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 132 (suppl_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamed Nazzari ◽  
Krishnan Ramanathan ◽  
Carolyn Taylor ◽  
Marc Deyell ◽  
Jasmine Grewal ◽  
...  

Background: Mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (MRAs) have been shown to reduce the morbidity and mortality in patients with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) post myocardial infarction (MI). Canadian guidelines recommend a MRA in patients post MI with an LVEF of ≤40% and documented heart failure or diabetes before hospital discharge, in the absence of any contraindications. We sought to examine if discrepancies between guideline-based therapy and actual prescribing rates exists in the use of MRAs in acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients. Methods: Retrospective analysis of utilization rates of MRAs in eligible patients enrolled in the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority STEMI database between October 2007 and October 2014. Inclusion criteria were based on the EPHESUS trial, which included an LVEF <40% and documented heart failure or history of diabetes. Patients on dialysis or with a serum Cr >221 were excluded. Results: 2583 patients had a STEMI during the study period. 192 (7.4%) patients were determined to be eligible for MRA prescription at discharge, 32 were excluded due missing discharge prescription information. Of the remaining 160 patients, the mean age was 67.9, 71.3% were male, 72.5% had an anterior MI and the mean LVEF was 30.4%. During hospitalization 51.6% had clinical evidence of HF and 21.3% were diagnosed with cardiogenic shock. PCI was performed in 75.6% of those eligible and 11.3% underwent CABG, 11.9% were medically managed and 1.25% underwent thrombolysis as a final revascularization strategy. On discharge 98% were on ASA, 81.3% on a second anti-platelet agent, 96% were on a beta-blocker, 75.6% were on an ACEi, 15.6% were on an ARB, 99.4% were on a statin. Only 22 (13.8%) of eligible patients were discharged on an MRA. No significant clinical difference existed amongst those that received an MRA compared to those that did not. Conclusions: Despite a Class IA recommendation for the use of MRAs in this patient population, our study demonstrates that the majority of patients are not prescribed an MRA after STEMI. This demonstrates a large care gap between evidence based guidelines and clinical practice. The reasons for this discrepancy in practice patterns are unclear and will be the focus of further study.


2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (6) ◽  
pp. 1435-1440
Author(s):  
Mirela Zaharie ◽  
Doina Carstea ◽  
Costin Teodor Streba ◽  
Paul Mitrut ◽  
Adina Dorina Glodeanu ◽  
...  

Heart failure (HF) and renal dysfunction are frequent associated in the same patient. The purpose of our study was to assess the prevalence of renal dysfunction and the clinical status in admitted patients for decompensated HF. Material and Methods. 397 patients succesively hospitalized for decompensated HF, NYHA III or IV functional class, with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) � 45% were included in the study. Renal dysfunction was defined by glomerular filtration rate (GFR) [ 60 mL/min/1.73 m 2. The mean GFR in patients with HF was 63.89 � 21.5 mL/min/1.73 m2 .The prevalence of renal dysfunction was 49.6%. Patients with GFR [ 60 mL/min/1.73m2, compared with those with preserved renal function were significantly more frequent older (75.37 � 6.84 vs. 71.33 � 8.08 years; p [0.001), females (53,8% vs. 43.5%; p = 0.04), had a significantly higher prevalence of diabetes mellitus (50.2% vs. 28.5%; p [0.001), atrial fibrillation (53.8% vs 46.2%, p = 0.04) and anemia (47.7% vs. 29.5% ; p [0.001). Also, patients with renal dysfunction had more severe HF than those without renal dysfunction (NYHA class IV: 65% vs 45%, p [0.001, clinical congestion: 78.2% vs 68%, p = 0.02, LVEF [35%: 47.21% vs � 35%, p [0.001). Renal dysfunction can be considered an additional marker of severe cardiac dysfunction along with NYHA IV class and low LVEF. The presence of both renal dysfunction and anemia could represent prognostic markers in HF patients with reduced LVEF.


2016 ◽  
Vol 70 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Camillo Taglieri ◽  
Enrico Lombardo ◽  
Mauro Feola

Post-myocardial infarction left ventricular remodelling should be considered an important therapeutic target in patients after an acute myocardial infarction, considering the heavy prognostic implication. The therapies used in these patients should reduce the progression of the left ventricular dysfunction to refractory heart failure. In order to prevent post-myocardial infarction cardiac remodelling, different therapies have been tested, and for ACE-inhibitors and betablockers a clear demonstration of efficacy has been obtained. Losartan and valsartan, two widely used angiotensin receptor blockers, demonstrated to be safe and equally useful compared to ACEI. The addition of spironolactone to the standard therapy for heart failure has a clear beneficial effect but the clinical use has been refrained by the risk of iperkaliemia. Aerobic physical training improves the left ventricular ejection fraction in patients with systolic dysfunction, reducing the progressive enlargement after myocardial infarction. The positive effect of aerobic training on cardiac remodelling might be related to the positive effect on neurhormonal assessment, to he improvement of microcirculatory myocardial perfusion and of endothelial function.


2017 ◽  
Vol 03 (01) ◽  
pp. 25 ◽  
Author(s):  
John J Atherton ◽  
Annabel Hickey ◽  
◽  
◽  

Large-scale randomised controlled trials (RCTs) have demonstrated that angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers and beta-blockers decrease mortality and hospitalisation in patients with heart failure (HF) associated with a reduced left ventricular ejection fraction. This has led to high prescription rates; however, these drugs are generally prescribed at much lower doses than the doses achieved in the RCTs. A number of strategies have been evaluated to improve medication titration in HF, including forced medication up-titration protocols, point-of-care decision support and extended scope of clinical practice for nurses and pharmacists. Most successful strategies have been multifaceted and have adapted existing multidisciplinary models of care. Furthermore, given the central role of general practitioners in long-term monitoring and care coordination in HF patients, these strategies should engage with primary care to facilitate the transition between the acute and primary healthcare sectors.


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