Policy & Procedure Practice Guidelines:
Management of Heart Failure
I. Purpose:
Heart failure is a major public health problem. The National Heart, Lung,
and Blood Institute estimates that over 2 million Americans have heart
failure and that about 400,000 new cases of heart failure are diagnosed
each year. Heart failure claims the lives of over 200,000 people in the
United States every year. Almost 1 million hospitalizations occur each
year for patients with this condition.
II. Policy Statements:
This guideline provides recommendations concerning the outpatient evaluation
and care of patients with heart failure due to left-ventricular systolic
dysfunction, which is the most common cause of heart failure. It does
not address the management of patients with heart failure occurring despite
normal ventricular systolic performance or due to surgically correctable
valvular disease.
III. Policy
All providers will use this guideline as a reference tool. If a specific
patient need does not warrant the use of this guideline, the reason should
be documented. Initial areas for monitoring compliance will be echocardiogram
report on chart and ACE inhibitor has been started.
IV. Procedures:
Clinical Practice Guideline for patients with heart failure attached.
Congestive
Heart Failure (CHART)
Note: These recommendations
are presented in a very abbreviated form derived from the U.S. Department
of Health & Human Services Agency for Health Care Policy and Research
#11.
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