$3M Effort Launched to Bridge Gaps in Heart Failure Care
WASHINGTON — The American Heart Association announced on Monday that it is launching a three-year, $3 million education effort to bridge treatment gaps for people living with advanced heart failure.
The effort, which is being supported financially by Abbott Laboratories, the medical device company, aims to provide cardiovascular clinicians with information on care models that connect specialists and clinical teams and improve patient outcomes.
According to the association, about 6.7 million American adults are currently living with heart failure and the population is growing. It is estimated that the number of Americans coping with heart failure will reach 8 million by 2030.
“Knowledge gaps among clinicians may contribute to variations and disparities in the types of patients who receive advanced heart failure therapies, and resultant delays or lack of referral can lead to adverse consequences for patients and their families,” said Dr. Mariell Jessup, chief science and medical officer of the American Heart Association, in a written statement.
“This initiative will create nationwide education on the full array of treatment options for eligible people living with advanced heart failure, helping to bridge these gaps,” Jessup added.
While there is no cure for heart failure, many people with the condition can live full, enjoyable lives and disease progression can be slowed, the association said,
People with early-stage HF often can manage their condition with lifestyle modifications and medications, though more advanced therapies may be needed as the disease progresses.
The problem is, a significant number of patients who may benefit from advanced heart failure specialty care don’t receive it — a gap that particularly affects populations with limited access to health care resources.
To advance its new education initiative, the Heart Association will work directly with multidisciplinary teams at 15 “carefully selected” hospitals across the nation.
Over the next three years, the hospital teams will engage in process mapping, expert collaboration and a national roundtable event.
The 15 participating hospitals are:
Allina Health Minneapolis Heart Institute in Minneapolis
Avera McKennan Hospital and University Health Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Baptist Memorial Hospital Memphis in Memphis, Tennessee
East Jefferson General Hospital in Metairie, Louisiana
Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, New Jersey
JPS Health Network in Fort Worth, Texas
Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina
Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, Oregon
Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center in Athens, Georgia
Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City, Missouri
The Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska
University of California San Diego in La Jolla, California
University of Chicago Medicine in Chicago
University of Utah Health in Salt Lake City
Yale New Haven Hospital in New Haven, Connecticut
“Across the United States, millions of people are living with heart failure, yet far too many of those people see their disease progress while never receiving access to new and innovative treatment approaches and therapy options,” said Keith Boettiger, vice president of Abbott’s heart failure business, in a written statement.
“Fostering new connections among primary care physicians, cardiologists and advanced heart failure specialists is critical to ensuring more of these patients can access advanced therapy options that can improve and extend their life,” Boettiger added.
Dan can be reached at [email protected] and at https://twitter.com/DanMcCue
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