Only 3 in 5 heart failure patients see cardiologist at least once a year: Study

Only around three out of five heart failure patients see a cardiologist at least once a year according to new research released on SundayThe study published in the European Heart Journal shows that patients who do see a cardiologist once a year are around 24 per cent less likely to die in the following yearIt also shows which patients could benefit from seeing a cardiologist once a year and which patients should be seen more often The research suggests that if cardiologists did see heart failure patients at least once a year one life could be saved for every 11ndash16 patients seenldquoIn patients with heart failure the heart is unable to normalise blood flow and pressure Heart failure canrsquot usually be cured but with the right treatment symptoms can often be controlled for many years At the moment depending on the patient and their condition for example whether they have chronic or acute heart failure they may or may not be seen by a cardiologistrdquo said Dr Guillaume Baudry from the Clinical Investigation Centre of Nancy University Hospital in FranceThe study included all French patients living with heart failure in January 2020 who had been diagnosed in the previous five years 655919 people in totalThese patients were found using French national medical administrative data Researchers broke the group down according to whether they had been hospitalised with heart failure in the last year or the last five years and whether or not they were taking diuretics as a treatmentDiuretics help the body eliminate excess sodium through urine which reduces the buildup of fluid in the bodyAmong all groups of patients researchers found that around two out of every five patients did not see a cardiologist over the course of a yearThose who did see a cardiologist were less likely to die of any cause and less likely to be hospitalised with heart failure in the following yearFor patients who had been hospitalised in the last year four appointments with a cardiologist were optimal This reduced the risk from 343 per cent to 182 per cent according to the studyDr Baudry said ldquoAlthough there are inherent limitations in observational research our findings highlight the potential value of specialist followup even in patients who appear clinically stable Patients should feel encouraged to ask for a cardiology review particularly if they have recently been in hospital or they are taking diureticsrdquoThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoeveratOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params