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New Heart Failure Guidelines Developed

Posted on: Monday, 2 June 2003, 06:00 CDT

Researchers draw up clinical map for those at low risk

HealthScoutNews -- University of Pittsburgh researchers have developed new guidelines for identifying people with low-risk heart failure, a move that could save health-care costs by preventing unnecessary hospitalizations.

The guidelines are part of a study presented June 1 at the annual meeting of the Society of Academic Emergency Medicine in Boston.

The researchers analyzed emergency department data on more than 33,000 people with heart failure to identify people with heart failure who had a low risk of inpatient death or serious medical complications. They identified almost 16 percent of the 33,000 people with heart failure as low risk.

"Through this study we have successfully developed a clinical decision guideline that will enable emergency medicine physicians to identify patients with low-risk heart failure so they can go home rather than endure needless hospital stays," researcher Thomas E. Auble says in a news release.

About 1 million people with heart failure as their primary diagnosis are admitted to hospitals each year in the United States. Many of these people are 65 years old or more, an age group expected to grow over the next few decades.

About 70 percent of these heart failure patients are first treated in the emergency department, making it a perfect setting for a heart failure guideline to help doctors identify low-risk heart failure patients.

"Treatment for heart failure can improve the quality of life for people with this condition but cannot stop the progression. The number of patients seeking treatment in the emergency department for this disease will likely spiral upward as the elderly population continues to grow," Auble says.

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On the Net:

Heart Failure information

Society of Academic Emergency Medicine

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