Structured telephone support programs in chronic heart failure may be affected by a learning curve

This study is aimed to assess the impact of the HeartNetCare telephone support program in chronic heart failure within 18 months of observation and to verify a possible effect of a learning-to-care curve on outcome. Methods We retrospectively compared a cohort of 269 chronic heart failure patients included in HeartNetCare program with 200 patients receiving usual care as a control group. All-cause death and hospitalization for heart failure or implantation of left ventricular assist device were the primary composite outcome. Secondary endpoints were the changes in left ventricular ejection fraction and in New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class. Outcome data were also analyzed in relation to the time of enrollment from program initiation. Results At baseline, HeartNetCare group showed lower ejection fraction and higher NYHA class. At the follow-up, 59 HeartNetCare patients (21.9%) and 49 usual care patients (24.5%) reached the primary endpoint (P = 0.51). After 18 months of follow-up, HeartNetCare patients improved ejection fraction and NYHA class compared with the usual care patients (P 
Source: Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine - Category: Cardiology Tags: Research articles: Heart failure Source Type: research