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Heart failure — sometimes called congestive heart failure — is the No. 1 cause of hospitalization in our country. In heart failure, the heart can no longer pump or circulate the blood around the body normally. This causes shortness of breath and physical weakness.
With the following proper tests and therapies, the chance of dying is lessened and physical strength improves:
Includes data reported July 2006 through June 2007
| CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE |
DeKalb Memorial Hospital |
Ave of All Hospitals Reporting in the State |
Ave of All Hospitals Reporting in the Nation |
Left Ventricular Function Assessment (assessing the strength of the heart)
(Left ventricular function can be commonly measured by echocardiogram and other tests. This helps to determine how bad the heart is and help direct therapy) |
100% |
91% |
85% |
ACEI or ARB for Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction (weakened heart)
(Left ventricular systolic dysfunction is a measurement of how strong or weak the heart is. ACEI medications have been shown to improve survival and significantly increase the quality of life and physical exercise abilities of those with heart failure) |
92%* |
84% |
83% |
Discharge Instructions
(Prevention and continued good care after heart failure requires a person to understand more about what heart failure is, what one can do with and without medications to help, how to take their medications, what to do when heart failure symptoms reoccur and what kinds of food to eat.) |
90% |
75% |
65% |
Adult Smoking Cessation Advice/Counseling
(Smoking can increase a person's chance of having a heart attack and raise blood pressure. Both of these make heart failure worse. It is important to stop smoking.) |
100%* |
89% |
86% |
Last Updated: April 9, 2008
number of cases was too small ( < 25) to reliably predict performance*
Note: Should the scores on the Quality Indicators be 100 percent
all the time? This is the goal strived for and many times achieved.
However, at times it is important not to be 100 percent. For instance,
if a person is allergic to the recommended antibiotic, one should not be
given it. Another example is after discussing benefits, risks, and
alternatives with the patient, the patient decides not to receive the
recommended medicine or treatment. These examples would be reflected as
a score lower than 100 percent.
Assessment of left ventricular function. The bottom left ventricle is the strongest of the four chambers of the heart. There are two major types of heart failure. In one type the left ventricle is weak and can no longer pump blood efficiently. An assessment of the left ventricle needs to be done to help determine what type of heart failure a patient has. This is commonly done with an echocardiogram. This painless test passes sound waves through the heart and gives the physician a picture of the heart and measures how strong the ventricle is.
ACEI for LVSD (Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitor for Low Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction). ACEI medications allow the heart to pump more efficiently, decreases a person's chance of dying from heart failure, prolongs a person's lifespan and significantly increases physical strength and abilities of those with heart failure.
Discharge instructions. Prevention and continued good care after heart failure requires a person to understand more about what heart failure is, what one can do with and without medications to help, how to take their medications, what to do when heart failure symptoms reoccur and what kinds of food to eat.
Adult smoking cessation advice/counseling. Smoking can increase a person's chance of having a heart attack and raise blood pressure. Both of these make heart failure worse. It is important to stop smoking.
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