Heart failure is on the rise
Figure 1. Expected increase in heart failure
Prediction of the incidence of heart failure in Japan based on the new incidence of heart failure in the United States.
The incidence of heart failure is rising steadily.
Quoted from Shimokawa et al. (2015) Eur J Heart Fail. 17:884.
Heart failure is a disease that causes shortness of breath and swelling due to heart failure, which gradually worsens and shortens life.1. The number of patients with heart failure is increasing year by year (Figure 1)2, which is predicted to increase explosively in the future, has been called a heart failure pandemic.
Furthermore, heart failure patients are characterized by their condition becoming progressively worse as they are repeatedly admitted to and discharged from the hospital. The number of patients is increasing, and outpatient cardiovascular departments at general hospitals with inpatient facilities are crowded everywhere in the central region of Okinawa Prefecture, and it is expected that it will be difficult to make an appointment. If a heart failure patient is unable to see a doctor right away even when they are not feeling well, or if they have difficulty making an appointment and wait too long between outpatient clinics, their heart failure management may deteriorate and the condition may become so bad that they are hospitalized. General hospitals alone are overwhelmed.
RecentlyHeart failure diagnosed locally It is now believed that it is desirable for home-visit nursing, home-visit treatment, and clinics to work together to treat heart failure, with the patient at the center.
Heart failure diagnosed locally
Collaboration among various medical institutions is necessary, but there are reports that when heart failure clinics manage heart failure, especially in outpatient functions, mortality rates and heart failure hospitalizations are reduced (Figure 2).3. In this report, we hold study sessions for patients to learn how to manage their heart failure, and we ask them to repeatedly remember their diet and lifestyle habits. Although it has the potential to play a major role in treating heart failure in the community, the reality is that there are not many clinics that specialize in heart failure.
Figure 2. Utility of heart failure clinic
Red line is heart failure clinic care
Normal care for black lines
The red line and black line are separated.
Heart failure clinics have better results.
The data shows that the lower you go, the more you drop out due to heart failure and all-cause mortality.
Quoted from Howlett et al. (2009) Can J Cardiol;25 (9):e306
It is believed that heart failure clinics, rather than only cardiology departments with inpatient facilities in general hospitals that treat heart failure patients, will provide careful treatment to heart failure patients in the local community, which is expected to improve the quality of treatment for more heart failure patients and lead to longer prognoses (healthy lifespans). Nowadays, heart failure clinics are necessary and needed in community medical care.
References
- Japanese Circulation Society/Japan Heart Failure Society Joint Guidelines Acute/Chronic Heart Failure Treatment Guidelines
- Shimokawa, H., Miura, M., Nochioka, K. and Sakata, Y., Heart failure as a general pandemic in Asia. Eur J Heart Fail, (2015) 17: 884-892. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejhf.319
- Howlett JG, Mann OE, Baillie R, Hatheway R, Svendsen A, Benoit R, Ferguson C, Wheatley M, Johnstone DE, Cox JL. Heart failure clinics are associated with clinical benefit in both tertiary and community care settings: data from the Improving Cardiovascular Outcomes in Nova Scotia (ICONS) registry. Can J Cardiol. (2009) Sep;25(9):e306-11. doi: 10.1016/s0828-282x(09)70141-2. PMID: 19746249; PMCID: PMC2780901.