Why Heart Failure Care Measures are Important
Heart failure is a weakening of the heart's pumping power. With heart failure, your body doesn't get enough oxygen and nutrients to meet its needs. Your heart tries to pump more blood, but the muscle walls become weaker over time. These measures show some of the standards of care provided for most adults with heart failure.
Symptoms of heart failure may include:
- shortness of breath from fluid in the lungs
- swelling (such as in legs, ankles or abdomen)
- dizziness
- fatigue
- weakness
- cold or clammy skin
- a rapid or irregular heartbeat
Heart failure can be a result of heart condition due to:
- hardening of the arteries, also known as coronary artery disease a heart attack
- cardiomyopathy (heart muscle damage from infection or alcohol or drug abuse)
- an overworked heart (caused over time by conditions like high blood pressure, kidney disease, diabetes, or a defect from birth)
For more information about heart health go to:
View other publicly reported data about heart failure care in hospitals:
How is Hillcrest Hospital performing on heart failure care?
Overall Score for Heart Failure Care
This score tells you how many heart failure patients received all of the appropriate care they qualified for.
Higher percentage is better.
Q = quarter. Example: January - March
* The Ohio average is the most current available for all hospitals in the state and published at ohiohospitalcompare.ohio.gov. It is the Ohio average for January through December 2008.
Written Instructions Given at Discharge
This score tells you the percent of patients who received written instructions or educational material at hospital discharge about activity level, diet, home medications, follow-up appointment with your health care provider, weighing yourself and what to do if symptoms worsen.
This information is important because heart failure is a chronic condition. It results in symptoms such as shortness of breath, dizziness and fatigue. Before you leave the hospital, the staff at the hospital should provide you with information to help you manage the symptoms after you get home. The information should include your:
- activity level (what you can and can’t do)
- diet (what you should and shouldn’t eat or drink)
- medications
- follow-up appointment
- watching your daily checking for fluid build-up by weighing yourself daily
- what to do if your symptoms get worse
Higher percentages are better.
Q = quarter. Example: January - March
* The national average is the most current average available for all hospitals in the United States, and published at www.hospitalcompare.gov. It is the nation-wide average for the twelve months between July 2008 and June 2009. (The national average for earlier time periods may be different.)
Left Ventricular Function Assessed
This score tells you the percent of heart failure patients who had their left ventricular systolic (LVS) function evaluated before hospital arrival, during hospitalization or had a test planned following discharge.
This information is important because the proper treatment for heart failure depends on what area of your heart is affected. An important test is to check how your heart is pumping, called an “evaluation of the left ventricular systolic function.” It can tell your health care provider whether the left side of your heart is pumping properly. Other ways to check on how your heart is pumping include:
- your medical history
- a physical examination
- listening to your heart sounds
- other tests as ordered by a physician (like an ECG (electrocardiogram), chest X-ray, blood work and an echocardiogram)
Higher percentage is better.
Q = quarter. Example: January - March
* The national average is the most current average available for all hospitals in the United States, and published at www.hospitalcompare.gov. It is the nation-wide average for the twelve months between July 2008 and June 2009. (The national average for earlier time periods may be different.)
Medication Given for Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction (LVSD)
This score tells you the percent of heart failure patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) prescribed an angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or an angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) medication at discharge from the hospital.
This information is important because ACE inhibitors and ARBs are medicines used to treat patients with heart failure. These drugs can lower blood pressure and make it easier for the heart to pump. ACE inhibitors and ARB medicines are particularly beneficial for those patients with heart failure and decreased function of the left side of the heart. Early treatment with ACE inhibitors and ARBs in patients who have heart failure symptoms or decreased heart function after a heart attack can also reduce their risk of death from future heart attacks. ACE inhibitors and ARBs work by limiting the effects of a hormone that narrows blood vessels, and may lower blood pressure and reduce the work the heart has to perform. Because the ways in which these two kinds of drugs work are different, Your doctor will decide which drug is most appropriate for you. If you have a heart attack and/or heart failure, you should get a prescription for ACE inhibitors or ARBs if you have decreased heart function before you leave the hospital. There may be exceptions.
Higher percentage is better.
Q = quarter. Example: January - March
* The national average is the most current average available for all hospitals in the United States, and published at www.hospitalcompare.gov. It is the nation-wide average for the twelve months between July 2008 and June 2009. (The national average for earlier time periods may be different.)
Smokers Advised to Quit
This score tells you the percent of heart failure patients with a history of smoking cigarettes who received advice on how to quit smoking before hospital discharge.
This information is important because smoking increases your risk for developing blood clots and heart disease, which can result in a heart attack, heart failure or stroke. Smoking causes your blood vessels to thicken. Fat and plaque then stick to the wall of your blood vessels, which makes it harder for blood to flow. Reduced blood flow to your heart may result in chest pain, high blood pressure and an increased heart rate. Smoking is linked to lung disease and cancer, and can cause premature early death. It is important for your health that you get information to help you quit smoking before you leave the hospital.
Higher percentage is better.
Q = quarter. Example: January - March
* The national average is the most current average available for all hospitals in the United States, and published at www.hospitalcompare.gov. It is the nation-wide average for the twelve months between July 2008 and June 2009. (The national average for earlier time periods may be different.