Did you know that more than 90,000 Canadians over the age of 40 are diagnosed with heart failure each year? Even though we are in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important that these patients get quality care.

Kirsten Lewis, Think Research’s Senior Vice President, Clinical Research and Development, hosted a webinar with Dr. Stephanie Poon, a cardiologist from the Canadian Heart Failure Society, about how we can optimize care for patients with heart failure right now.

Here are some key takeaways from the conversation with Dr. Poon.

Why medical optimization is important

Findings on the state of heart failure care in Canada are “sobering.” According to data from the first-ever National Heart Failure Quality Report, the total number of heart failure admissions increased by nearly 22 percent from 2009 to 2018, a rate that outpaced population growth.

Readmission is also a cause for concern. With each hospitalization for heart failure, the risk of readmission increases and survival decreases. What’s more, each time a patient is hospitalized for heart failure, they are back in hospital about 28 days faster than the last time.

This is worrisome as the burden of heart failure in Canada is already high. More than 650,000 Canadians are living with heart failure, and the condition is the third highest cause of hospitalization. Heart failure will cost the Canadian healthcare system an estimated $2.8 billion by the year 2030.

Latest evidence-based strategies improve outcomes

Guideline-directed medical therapies, including newer including newer molecules such as ARNI and SGLT2, can assist in improving heart failure outcomes.

For more on the pillars of HFrEF management please watch the full webinar here.

How Order Sets can help

For patients who are hospitalized, medication optimization before the patient is discharged is important. This is because if a patient ended up in the ER, their medication was probably suboptimal in some fashion. The pathway to improve heart failure outcomes should begin on admission.

That’s where heart failure order sets come in. The implementation of standardized order sets in the acute care setting consistently shows improved outcomes in heart failure, including a reduction in mortality and length of hospital stay. Not only do order sets improve patient outcomes, they are designed as a point of care resource tool to assist healthcare providers in delivering the best, evidence-based care.

To find out more and register for the order sets, visit HFOrderSets.ca.