Heart failure (HF) affects more than six million Americans, with incidence rates increasing annually. This progressive problem damages the heart muscle and impairs its pumping abilities. Heart failure accounts for significant physical and financial burdens.
However, the revised heart failure pathways promote early detection and management. Guideline-directed treatment is estimated to reduce cardiovascular deaths and heart failure hospitalizations by 62%. Continue reading to learn how these approaches can help your practice address this mounting problem.
Heart failure damages and weakens the cardiac muscle, causing inefficient blood flow. Blood accumulation stresses the heart, and symptoms progressively become more pronounced. This complex condition contributes to significant hospital stays and readmission rates.
The most common risk factors for heart failure are cardiac muscle disease, metabolic disorders, autoimmune illnesses and cardiac damaging medications, like chemotherapy. Common symptoms related to heart failure are the following:
Team collaboration and patient ownership are essential for fighting this growing problem. Without a medical provider’s counsel, people unknowingly damage their hearts. Yet medical treatment is a band-aid for a gaping wound without patient partnership. With early recognition and patient involvement, we can fight heart failure.
The medical community has recently evaluated standard treatment practices for symptomatic heart failure. After much collaboration, the team published the revised pathways. These latest guidelines emphasize prevention and early intervention of heart failure.
In 2022, the American Heart Association (AHA), American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA) joined forces and revised the four progressive stages of heart failure. Cardiologists anticipate that these new guidelines will promote more thorough treatment for more people.
Stage A focuses on people at risk of developing heart failure. These individuals have no signs of HF, structural decline or muscle injury. The following risk factors place individuals in stage A:
Approximately 121.5 million people in the United States have hypertension. More than 100 million individuals are obese, and 28 million are diabetic. A significant number of Americans qualify for stage A interventions.
Stage B accounts for asymptomatic individuals with signs of structural heart disease. Some examples of structural heart damage would include:
Health education is vital since people in this stage don’t yet feel the progressive effects of heart failure. Many in the medical field mistakenly assume that their patients understand the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle and prioritizing preventive testing. Helping your patient know how to redirect the ship and to own their role as the captain is essential for turning the vessel of heart disease.
Stage C includes people with structural heart disease and the resulting symptoms. At this point, the heart feels the strain and reacts. A multidisciplinary team is vital to oversee patient care and slow the progression.
When HF symptoms disrupt your patients’ daily routines, they are in advanced heart failure, stage D. The disease has progressed, and the symptoms have become tough to manage. Rehospitalizations are common during this stage. The multidisciplinary team often expands to include palliative care providers.
Patients in stages A or B are at risk for heart failure. Stage C or D patients are experiencing active heart failure. Early interventions aim to reduce structural decline and symptom evolvement.
Treatment in these early stages of heart failure focuses on patient involvement and education that promotes healthy living. Additionally, pharmaceuticals help protect the heart and give individuals the time to learn healthy habits.
For patients with active heart failure, the goal is to treat the symptoms and reduce the progression of the disease. Providers seek to relieve fluid overload, manage comorbidities, consider cardiovascular surgery options and involve comfort care when appropriate.
The 2022 HF guideline revisions boast three significant improvements. Guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) for HF with reduced ejection fraction now includes four medication classes. GDMT helps physicians treat patients who suffer from HF and one of the following:
Observing GDMT, providers refer patients in stage D of HF to a heart failure team that assesses treatment options and collaborates with palliative care when needed. The American Heart Association aids medical professionals in providing appropriate, comprehensive care for patients at all stages of heart failure.
Heart failure is a leading cause of disease and death globally. This complex illness remains challenging to treat. The 2022 HF guidelines pave the way for early diagnosis and treatment of heart failure.
“New Heart Failure Guidelines Expand Focus on People at Risk or Showing Early Signs.” American Heart Association, 2022, Heart Attack and Stroke Symptoms.
“2022 AHA/ACC/HFSA Guideline for the Management of Heart Failure: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Joint Committee on Clinical Practice Guidelines.” Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 2022 May, 79(17) e263-e421.
“Stages of Heart Failure and Recommended Therapy by Stage.” Circulation, 2017, American Heart Association.
“2022 AHA/ACC/HFSA Guideline for the Management of Heart Failure.” American Heart Association, 2022, Professional Heart Daily.
“Heart Failure: Causes and Risk Factors.” NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, 2022, Heart Failure.
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