Dataset Information

Low Utilization of Beta-Blockers Among Medicare Beneficiaries Hospitalized for Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:The evidence-based beta-blockers carvedilol, bisoprolol, and metoprolol succinate reduce mortality and hospitalizations among patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Use of these medications is not well described in the general population of patients with HFrEF, especially among patients with potential contraindications. OBJECTIVES:Our goal was to describe the patterns of prescription fills for carvedilol, bisoprolol, and metoprolol succinate among Medicare beneficiaries hospitalized for HFrEF, as well as to estimate the associations between specific contraindications for beta-blocker therapy and those patterns. METHODS AND RESULTS:With the use of the cohort of 15,205 Medicare beneficiaries hospitalized for HFrEF from 2007 to 2013 in the 5% Medicare random sample, we described prescription fills (30 days after discharge) and dosage patterns (1 year after discharge) for beta-blockers. By means of of Fine and Gray competing risk models, we estimated the associations between potential contraindications (hypotension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD], asthma, and syncope) and prescription fill and dosing patterns while adjusting for demographics, comorbidities, and health care utilization. For beneficiaries who did not die or readmitted to the hospital, 38% of hospitalizations were followed by a prescription fill for an evidence-based beta-blocker within 30 days, 12% were followed by prescription fills for at least 50% of the recommended dose of an evidence-based beta-blocker within 1 year, and 9% were followed by a prescription fill for an up-titrated dose of an evidence-based beta-blocker within 1 year. The prevalence of the contraindications were 21% for hypotension, 48% for COPD, 15% for asthma, and 12% for syncope. Among beneficiaries who did not fill a prescription for an evidence-based beta-blocker within 30 days, 67% had at least 1 of these contraindications. Hypotension, COPD, and syncope were each associated with a ?10% lower risk of filling a prescription for an evidence-based beta-blocker. CONCLUSIONS:Prescription fill and up-titration rates for evidence-based beta-blockers are low among Medicare beneficiaries with HFrEF, but contraindications explain only a minor part of these low rates.

SUBMITTER: Loop MS

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6467695 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Low Utilization of Beta-Blockers Among Medicare Beneficiaries Hospitalized for Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction.

Loop Matthew Shane MS van Dyke Melissa K MK Chen Ligong L Safford Monika M MM Kilgore Meredith L ML Brown Todd M TM Durant Raegan W RW Levitan Emily B EB

Journal of cardiac failure 20181016 5

<h4>Background</h4>The evidence-based beta-blockers carvedilol, bisoprolol, and metoprolol succinate reduce mortality and hospitalizations among patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Use of these medications is not well described in the general population of patients with HFrEF, especially among patients with potential contraindications.<h4>Objectives</h4>Our goal was to describe the patterns of prescription fills for carvedilol, bisoprolol, and metoprolol succinate ...[more]

PMID: 30339796

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Project description:AimsThis study aimed to investigate the prognostic value of dynamic changes in left ventricular ejection fraction (EF) for cardiovascular (CV) outcomes in an all-comer heart failure (HF) population with reduced EF (HFrEF, EF < 40%). We sought to identify independent factors related to improvement in EF and to identify risk factors for increased risk of CV events in the subgroups of improved EF (iEF) and non-improved EF (niEF), respecively.Methods and resultsThis is a retrospective sub-analysis from the REDEAL HF trial, which included consecutive patients with chronic HF who were hospitalized from July 2009 to December 2017. Baseline and follow-up echocardiography data (interval ≥12 months) of 573 consecutive patients with HFrEF were analysed. iEF was defined as absolute improvement in EF ≥ 10% and follow-up EF over 40%. The primary endpoint was defined as a composite endpoint of cardiovascular (CV) death, CV hospitalization, or appropriate implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) therapy for ventricular arrhythmia. EF improved in 37.2% of patients with HFrEF during follow-up (median period of 17 months). iEF was independently associated with shorter HF duration (>4 vs. ≤4 years, odd ratio [OR] = 0.477, 95% CI 0.305-0.745), no coronary artery disease (CAD vs. no CAD, OR = 0.583, 95% CI 0.396-0.858), and no ICD implantation (ICD vs. no ICD, OR = 0.341, 95% CI 0.228-0.511). Compared with niEF, iEF was significantly and independently associated with lower all-cause mortality (22.1% vs. 31.1%, P = 0.019; hazard ratio [HR] = 0.674, 95% CI 0.469-0.968), lower CV mortality (8.9% vs. 16.1%, P = 0.015; HR = 0.539, 95% CI 0.317-0.916), and lower CV events risk (27.2% vs. 49.2%, P < 0.001; HR 0.519, 95% CI 0.381-0.708), after adjustment for age, sex, duration of HF, and other clinical risk factors. Hypertension (HR = 2.452, P = 0.032) and elevated N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP >1153 pg/mL, HR = 4.372, P < 0.001) were identified as independent risk factors for CV events in the iEF subgroup. ICD implantation (HR = 1.533, P = 0.011), elevated NT-proBNP (HR = 1.626, P = 0.018), increased left atrial volume index (HR = 1.461, P = 0.021), reduced lateral mitral annular plane systolic excursion (HR = 1.478, P = 0.025), and reduced tricuspid plane systolic excursion (HR = 1.491, P = 0.039) were identified as risk factors for CV events in the niEF subgroup.ConclusionsImprovement in EF is independently related to the longer survival and lower CV related mortality and hospitalization rate of HFrEF. Elevated baseline NT-proBNP is identified as the strongest prognostic factor associated with increased CV events risk in HFrEF patients both with and without improved EF, regardless of age, sex, duration of HF, and other clinical risk factors.

Project description:Background Sacubitril/Valsartan has been highly efficacious in randomized trials of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). However, the effectiveness of sacubitril/valsartan in older patients hospitalized for HFrEF in real-world US practice is unclear. Methods and Results This study included Medicare beneficiaries age ≥65 years who were hospitalized for HFrEF ≤40% in the Get With The Guidelines-Heart Failure registry between October 2015 and December 2018, and eligible for sacubitril/valsartan. Associations between discharge prescription of sacubitril/valsartan and clinical outcomes were assessed after inverse probability of treatment weighting and adjustment for other HFrEF medications. Overall, 1551 (10.9%) patients were discharged on sacubitril/valsartan. Of those not prescribed sacubitril/valsartan, 7857 (62.0%) were prescribed an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor/angiotensin II receptor blocker. Over 12-month follow-up, compared with a discharge prescription of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor/angiotensin II receptor blocker, sacubitril/valsartan was independently associated with lower all-cause mortality (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 0.82; 95% CI, 0.72-0.94; P=0.004) but not all-cause hospitalization (adjusted HR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.89-1.07; P=0.55) or heart failure hospitalization (adjusted HR, 1.04; 95% CI, 0.91-1.18; P=0.59). Patients prescribed sacubitril/valsartan versus those without a prescription had lower risk of all-cause mortality (adjusted HR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.60-0.79; P<0.001), all-cause hospitalization (adjusted HR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.82-0.98; P=0.02), but not heart failure hospitalization (adjusted HR, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.82-1.08; P=0.40). Conclusions Among patients hospitalized for HFrEF, prescription of sacubitril/valsartan at discharge was independently associated with reduced postdischarge mortality compared with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor/angiotensin II receptor blocker, and reduced mortality and all-cause hospitalization compared with no sacubitril/valsartan. These findings support the use of sacubitril/valsartan to improve postdischarge outcomes among older patients hospitalized for HFrEF in routine US clinical practice.

Project description:AimsHeart failure with mildly reduced ejection fraction (HFmrEF) is associated with a favourable prognosis compared with heart failure (HF) with reduced ejection fraction (EF). We assessed whether left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) trajectory can be used to identify groups of patients with HFmrEF who have different clinical outcomes in a large retrospective study of patients with serial imaging.Methods and resultsPatients with HF and ≥2 echocardiograms performed ≥6 months apart were included if the LVEF measured 40-49% on the second study. Patients were classified as HFmrEF-Increasing if LVEF had increased ≥10% (n = 450), HFmrEF-Decreasing if LVEF had decreased ≥10% (n = 512), or HFmrEF-Stable if they did not meet other criteria (n = 389). The primary outcome was all-cause mortality or cardiovascular hospitalization after the second echocardiogram. Associations with time to first event were assessed with multivariable Cox analyses adjusted for age, co-morbidities, and medications. In total, 1351 patients with HFmrEF (median age 74, 64.2% male) were included with 28.8% exhibiting stable LVEF. During median follow-up of 15.3 months, the composite outcome occurred in 811 patients. During follow-up, patients with HFmrEF-Increasing were less likely to experience the primary outcome [adjusted hazard ratio (HR) 0.72, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.60-0.88, P < 0.001] compared with HFmrEF-Stable. Patients with HFmrEF-Decreasing were more likely to experience the composite outcome in unadjusted analyses (unadjusted HR 1.19, 95% CI 1.01-1.40, P = 0.040) but not adjusted analyses (adjusted HR 1.16, 95% CI 0.98-1.37, P = 0.092). Associations with death or HF hospitalizations were similar (HFmrEF-Increasing: adjusted HR 0.72, 95% CI 0.59-0.88, P = 0.005; HFmrEF-Decreasing: adjusted HR 1.20, 95% CI 1.01-1.44, P = 0.044). Patients with HFmrEF-Decreasing had a similar risk of the composite outcome as patients with HF with reduced EF (adjusted HR 1.03, 95% CI 0.89-1.20, P = 0.670). Patients with HFmrEF-Increasing were less likely to experience the composite outcome compared with patients with HF with preserved EF (adjusted HR 0.73, 95% CI 0.62-0.87, P < 0.001).ConclusionsAmongst patients with HFmrEF, those exhibiting positive LVEF trajectory were less likely to experience adverse outcomes after correcting for important confounders including medical therapy. Categorizing HFmrEF patients based on LVEF trajectory provides meaningful clinical information and may assist clinicians with management decisions.

Dataset Information

Low Utilization of Beta-Blockers Among Medicare Beneficiaries Hospitalized for Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction.

Publications

Low Utilization of Beta-Blockers Among Medicare Beneficiaries Hospitalized for Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction.

Similar Datasets

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