- About 73% of people with heart failure will live for five years and almost 35% will live for 10 years.
- Between 20% to 25% of people with heart failure will be re-hospitalized within 60 days.
- Researchers from the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai found more follow-up phone calls after hospitalization may help people with heart failure live longer and not be re-hospitalized as frequently.
More than
Also known as congestive heart failure, this type of cardiovascular disease occurs when the heart is not able to efficiently pump blood throughout the body.
There is currently no cure for heart failure.
Previous research shows 20% to 25% of people with heart failure discharged from the hospital are readmitted within 60 days.
About
Now, researchers from the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles are reporting heart failure patients who received a post-hospitalization care plan, including more follow-up phone calls from nurses, stayed out of the hospital longer than those who received the usual follow-up plan of only one follow-up phone call.
The team found people with heart failure alongside other diseases who received the additional phone calls spent less time in the hospital and were less likely to die during the study period compared to the group receiving the standard follow-up.
The study was recently published in the Journal of Cardiac Failure.
Heart failure happens when the heart is no longer able to pump blood throughout the body.
This damage to the heart can occur for different reasons, including:
Symptoms of heart failure include:
Current
According to Dr. Ilan Kedan, a professor of cardiology at the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai and corresponding author of the study, he and his team decided to study a new way to improve survival…
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