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Digital

Publication, Part of

National Heart Failure Audit - 2010

Audit
Publication Date:
Geographic Coverage:
United Kingdom
Geographical Granularity:
Country, Hospital Trusts
Date Range:
01 Apr 2009 to 31 Mar 2010

Summary

The National Service Framework for Coronary Heart Disease (NSF for CHD) sets national standards of care relating to CHD, including providing better care for people with heart failure. The National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) has issued guidelines on the management of heart failure in primary and secondary care. Both play an important role in improving health standards and ensuring high quality care is available and accessible to all who need it.

This third report for the National Heart Failure Audit presents key findings and recommendations from the audit which was launched in July 2007. The data included in this report was submitted between April 2009 and March 2010. Aimed at healthcare professionals, managers and clinical governance leads, the report describes progress to date, clinical findings and patient outcomes, and implementation issues.

 

Highlights

As of June 2010;

 

  • The prognosis of heart failure remains poor, even for patients aged under 75 years, despite current therapy. There is substantial scientific evidence that more might be done.

  • Within the year of admission for heart failure, 32 per cent of patients died.

  • Mortality is significantly better for those who have access to specialist care i.e. those seen by cardiologists or specialist heart failure services (23 per cent).

  • Patients with heart failure enrolled in the audit were mostly admitted under either cardiology (46 per cent) or general medicine (42 per cent).

  • Patients admitted to cardiology wards were almost half as likely to die (6 per cent) in hospital as those admitted to other wards (12 per cent).

  • Echocardiography, a key investigation for heart failure, was performed in 79 per cent of cases.

  • Specialist services (inpatient and out-patient) are associated with better prescribing and better outcomes.

  • Beta-blockers are underused.

  • Many patients with heart failure are elderly and with multiple co-morbidities. The impact of existing conventional therapies may be limited in such patients.

  • Prognosis of heart failure due to valve disease and in those with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) greater than 40 per cent requiring admission to hospital is as poor as that of patients with LVEF less than 40 per cent.

  • On average, patients with a home address in the most deprived quintile are admitted for heart failure 5 years earlier than those in the most affluent.

 

Resources

Last edited: 31 May 2022 4:26 pm