Chapters authored
Prevention of Heart Failure
Heart failure is a life-threatening disease, and its solution should be seen as a global health priority. Heart failure is indeed a complex disease and has until now been the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in developing and developed countries. Standardized medical therapy was successful in the early stages of heart failure. The advanced stages of heart failure require frequent hospitalization because of the presence of severe heart failure and/or associated comorbid conditions that require the strict implementation of an adequately individualized multidisciplinary approach and quality measures. Even after the development of heart failure, premature deaths can be prevented if they are taught to recognize symptoms and seek immediate medical attention. Public awareness campaigns on these messages have a great potential for improving outcomes for patients with heart failure and, ultimately, for saving lives. It is also quite possible that the prevention of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in the adult population of the current generation to some extent is only a delay of events or a reduction in mortality from the case, rather than complete prevention. Preventing premature death from cardiovascular disease and years of life adjusted for disability is large but may be due to an increase in the prevalence of cardiovascular disease in the elderly and in very old cases with an epidemic of cardiovascular diseases in the terminal stage, such as chronic heart failure, renal insufficiency, and vascular dementia with all its consequences in terms of greater need for care than for treatment and increased costs of sanitation protection. Continuing research is needed if we want to solve the unmet need for care for patients with heart failure. New methods of treatment are needed for patients with types of heart failure, for which modern treatments ease the symptoms, but do not affect the disease. In the economically developing world, more accessible methods of treatment are desperately needed. International collaborative research on the causes and methods of treating heart failure around the world can benefit tens of millions of people. Compliance with the recommendations of clinical practice is also associated with improved results for patients with heart failure. However, there are significant differences in how closely the doctors follow the recommendations. In order to promote equitable care, improvements should be promoted through the use of indicators and incentives for hospitals that are appropriate to local conditions. To this end, the policy should facilitate the research needed to create an evidence base for performance indicators that reflect improved outcomes for patients.
Part of the book: Topics in Heart Failure Management