Identifying Heart Failure

The prevalence of congestive heart failure is on the increase both in the United States and all over the world, and it is the leading cause of hospitalization in the elderly population. Congestive heart failure is a progressive disease generally seen in the elderly, which if not properly managed, can lead to repeated hospital admissions or death. Heart failure means that the heart muscle is weakened. A weakened heart muscle may not be strong enough to pump an adequate amount of blood out of its chambers. To compensate for its diminished pumping capacity, the heart may enlarge. Commonly, the heart's pumping inefficiency causes a buildup of blood in the

Heart failure is a chronic, progressive condition in which the heart muscle is unable to pump enough blood through to meet the body 's needs for blood and oxygen. Basically, the heart can 't keep up with its workload. American Heart Association Statistics (2016) reveals that heart failure accounts for 36% of cardiovascular disease deaths. Projections report a 46% increase in the prevalence of Heart Failure (HF) by 2030 by affecting over 8 million people above 18 years with the disease. Healthy People 2020 goals are focused on attaining high quality longer lives free of preventable diseases, promotion of quality of life, healthy development and healthy behaviors across all stages of life (Healthy People 2020, 2015).

In the UK, reports show that heart failure has been affecting up to 2% of the population, over 900,000 people are living with heart failure, with 63,000 new cases being diagnosed each year (BHF, 2015). It costs the NHS £625 million per year, as a result of the high portion of emergency admissions, readmission and long length of inpatient stay (NHS Improvement, 2010). DH (2000) confirmed that Heart failure accounts for all cardiac admissions and the readmission rate can be as high as 50% within 3 months; also, it further estimated 50% readmission might be preventable. Unfortunately, Heart Failure can’t be cured, but early

Heart failure affects nearly 6 million Americans. It is the leading cause of hospitalization in people older than 65. Roughly 550,000 people are diagnosed with heart failure each year (Emory Healthcare, 2014). Heart failure is a pathologic state where the heart cannot pump enough blood to meet the demand of the body’s metabolic needs or when the ventricle’s ability to fill is impaired. It is not a disease, but rather a complex clinical syndrome. The symptoms of heart failure come from pulmonary vascular congestion and inadequate perfusion of the systemic circulation. Individuals experience orthopnea,

When nursing any patient with heart failure it is important to have an understanding of how the heart should work to understand how it stops working correctly. This knowledge is important as writtler (2006) (cited in Jones) feels that district nurses have little knowledge when it comes to heart failure. Patient, Writler (2006) feels that by understanding how the heart works and how it is damaged we, as district nurses will be able to recognise the signs of heart failure earlier7a?.

Evaluation is the final and often the most critical step in evidence based research and practice. Evaluation of evidence based practice follows a pathway beginning with the selection of the area for improvement, synthesizing the research into a process improvement activity and evaluating both the implementation of the process improvement as well and the outcomes of the intervention (Titler, 2008). To measure the results of process change in the management of heart failure patients a retrospective analysis will be conducted comparing the readmission rates of a pilot and control population over a 6-month period. The pilot population will be evaluated with the LACE index readmission risk assessment upon admission and subsequently receive the recommended interventions based on the risk stratification. In comparison, the control group will receive the current process of telephonic contact only. The pilot group will include patients over the age of 18 residing in zip-codes 45402 and 45403,

A resident at the time saw that although there is a hearty amount of evidence that illustrates that adhering to heart failure guidelines decreases the rate of mortality and morbidity, nationally there is modest adherence to heart failure practice guidelines. Doctors have voiced a multitude of reasons to this poor participation including but not limited to time constraints in a visit, inertia of patterns in practice, lack of awareness and lack of acceptance are a few. This new web-based tool, the “Smart” Heart failure sheet is designed to help connect previously compartmentalized information. It seeks to link guidelines to their patients’ clinical and laboratory characteristics and systematize adherence to heart failure guidelines. It accomplishes this by uploading pertinent patient-specific data, including laboratory and imaging results, procedure reports and relevant medications. Additionally it also provides tools, such as a flow chart for diuretic dosage and weights. Overall this tool is useful to help physicians identify patients who may benefit from a treatment. From there it provides support tools that alert the physician to a personalized medical treatment. The “Smart” Heart Failure Sheet acts as a registry for scholarly research and also provides educational resources to expand providers’ knowledge, thereby improving patient care (Battaglia,

Clinical coordinators would oversee the process to monitor for safety, quality, recruitment, and retention of patients in the program. The patients would receive detailed instructions and protocols on how to make calls daily, report vital signs, weight, and answer questions about their health and symptoms of heart failure. (Chaudrey et al., 2010). Results would then be transferred via a secure network connection. The providers could then evaluate the data to identify and manage early signs of decompensation, and to make recommendations on patient care. Providers could also provide patient education to help patients understand their discharge instructions and medications. (Inglis et al., 2011).

established the clinical problem that heart failure is associated with high morbidity and poor prognosis (Hobbs, et al., 2007). She further added that it decreases patients’ quality of life as it places a heavy burden on them, as well as their families, as well as the huge negative impact on health care resources (Iqbal, et al, 2010), contributing to lost productivity from unplanned hospital admissions. The authors presented the research problem strongly, stating that there is a limited study of the role of specialized heart failure nurses in the multidisciplinary team in managing heart failure patients, thus warranting a further investigation to be conducted. Special nurses, as defined by Glogowska et al, are experienced senior nurses who are involved in providing medical, psychological and emotional support that begins at the initial diagnosis of heart failure and continues onward. They provide transitional care in assisting patients manage their heart failure. The research article focus on the experiences and perceptions of clinicians in managing heart failure patients, and it aims to understand the special role of specialized heart failure nurses in the interdisciplinary team. The authors designed to answer the following questions when conducting this study:

Heart failure (HF) is defined as a multifaceted clinical syndrome that can result from any structural or functional cardiac disorder that impairs the ability of the ventricle to fill with or eject blood. In HF, the heart may not provide tissues with adequate blood for metabolic needs, and cardiac-related elevation of pulmonary or systemic venous pressures may result in organ congestion1. In the United States, HF is increasing in incidence with about 5.1 million people suffering from HF and half of people who develop HF die within 5years 2. Over 75% of existing and new cases occurred in individuals over 65 years of age, < 1% in individuals below 60 years, nearly 10% in those over 80 years of age. HF costs the

Heart failure is a major health problem worldwide, but especially in the United States. The CDC estimates that over 5.7 million Americans are living with heart failure, and that

The chronic disease burden has increased the need for a statewide and national approach in its detection, prevention, and treatment of heart failure. In the state of Indiana heart disease is shown to be leading the way with a total of 13,394 individuals who have died in 2013 (Indiana State, 2013). The health indicators show that although the mortality rate has decreased from 42.3 per 100,000 in 2001 to 37.3 per 100,000 hospitalization rates have increased (Center for Disease, 2011). Heart failure rehospitalization rate has increased from 2007-2011 especially in those who are over the age of 85. In 2011, there were a total of 41.9 per 1,000 hospitalizations due to heart failure. This is gradually increasing from the Healthy People 2020

Heart failure is a long-term (chronic) condition in which the heart cannot pump enough blood through the body. When this happens, parts of the body do not get the blood and oxygen needed for them to function properly.

Its prevalence is expected to continue to rise over the next several years due to decreased mortality from cardiovascular disease and the growth of the elderly population. The key actions for heart failure patient care are to provide a comprehensive and cost effective heart failure service for all, and to implement an agreed pathway for the care of those with chronic heart failure.

The management of Heart Failure patient’s requires long life modifications and education to get control and reduce hospitalizations. The transition from hospital to the home must be improved using smooth and well-structured measures that include the participation of a multidisciplinary team. Frequently, CHF patients become decompensated since they possess other co-morbid conditions that limit their quality of life. The job required, the need for engagement with a multidisciplinary approach, and the involvement of stakeholders, health care organizations, and social services must be an active component to be effective.