Heart 1998;80:428-429 ( November )
Editorial
Heart failure clinics: a possible means of improving care
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
The number of patients with heart failure is increasing despite a general decline in the manifestations of ischaemic heart disease, the most important aetiologic factor today.1 The increasing prevalence is mainly because of the growing number of elderly heart failure patients who are often hospitalised and frequently readmitted owing to exacerbation; at least 30% are readmitted within one year and many within 30 days.2 Hospitalisation for heart failure is a major economic burden on health care.
Most heart failure patients are treated by primary care physicians.
This requires special considerations in relation to the implementation
of diagnostic and treatment guidelines issued by the European Society
of Cardiology.3 The diagnosis and treatment of heart
failure requires objective analysis of ventricular function, usually by
echocardiography, which is not routinely used in primary care.4,5 Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors
are recommended as first line treatment for heart failure patients with
reduced systolic function; however,
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This article has been cited by other articles:
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Gustafsson, F., Arnold, J. M. O.
(2004). Heart failure clinics and outpatient management: review of the evidence and call for quality assurance. Eur Heart J
25: 1596-1604
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