Contemporary Burden of Primary Versus Secondary Heart Failure Hospitalizations in the United States

Uptake of Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter-2 Inhibitors in Hospitalized Patients With Heart Failure: Insights From the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System

BACKGROUND

The use of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2is) in Veterans Affairs (VA) patients hospitalized with heart failure (HF) has not been reported previously.

METHODS

VA electronic health record data were used to identify patients hospitalized for HF (primary or secondary diagnosis) from 01/2019-11/2022. Patients with SGLT2i allergy, advanced/end-stage chronic kidney disease (CKD) or advanced HF therapies were excluded. We identified factors associated with discharge SGLT2i prescriptions for patients hospitalized due to HF in 2022. We also compared SGLT2i and angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitor (ARNI) prescription rates. Hospital-level variations in SGLT2i prescriptions were assessed via the median odds ratio.

RESULTS

A total of 69,680 patients were hospitalized due to HF; 10.3% were prescribed SGLT2i at discharge (4.4% newly prescribed, 5.9% continued preadmission therapy). SGLT2i prescription increased over time and was higher in patients with HFrEF and primary HF. Among 15,762 patients hospitalized in 2022, SGLT2i prescription was more likely in patients with diabetes (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.27; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.09-2.47) and ischemic heart disease (aOR 1.14; 95% CI: 1.03-1.26). Patients with increased age (aOR 0.77 per 10 years; 95% CI: 0.73-0.80) and lower systolic blood pressure (aOR 0.94 per 10 mmHg; 95% CI: 0.92-0.96) were less likely to be prescribed SGLT2i, and SGLT2i prescription was not more likely in patients with CKD (aOR 1.07; 95% CI 0.98-1.16). The adjusted median odds ratio suggested a 1.8-fold variation in the likelihood that similar patients at 2 random VA sites were prescribed SGLT2i (range 0-21.0%). In patients with EF ≤ 40%, 30.9% were prescribed SGLT2i while 26.9% were prescribed ARNI (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSION

One-tenth of VA patients hospitalized for HF were prescribed SGLT2i at discharge. Opportunities exist to reduce variation in SGLT2i prescription rates across hospitals and to promote its use in patients with CKD and older age.

Virtual Care Team Guided Management of Patients With Heart Failure During Hospitalization

BACKGROUND

Scalable and safe approaches for heart failure guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) optimization are needed.

OBJECTIVES

The authors assessed the safety and effectiveness of a virtual care team guided strategy on GDMT optimization in hospitalized patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF).

METHODS

In a multicenter implementation trial, we allocated 252 hospital encounters in patients with left ventricular ejection fraction ≤40% to a virtual care team guided strategy (107 encounters among 83 patients) or usual care (145 encounters among 115 patients) across 3 centers in an integrated health system. In the virtual care team group, clinicians received up to 1 daily GDMT optimization suggestion from a physician-pharmacist team. The primary effectiveness outcome was in-hospital change in GDMT optimization score (+2 initiations, +1 dose up-titrations, -1 dose down-titrations, -2 discontinuations summed across classes). In-hospital safety outcomes were adjudicated by an independent clinical events committee.

RESULTS

Among 252 encounters, the mean age was 69 ± 14 years, 85 (34%) were women, 35 (14%) were Black, and 43 (17%) were Hispanic. The virtual care team strategy significantly improved GDMT optimization scores vs usual care (adjusted difference: +1.2; 95% CI: 0.7-1.8; P < 0.001). New initiations (44% vs 23%; absolute difference: +21%; P = 0.001) and net intensifications (44% vs 24%; absolute difference: +20%; P = 0.002) during hospitalization were higher in the virtual care team group, translating to a number needed to intervene of 5 encounters. Overall, 23 (21%) in the virtual care team group and 40 (28%) in usual care experienced 1 or more adverse events (P = 0.30). Acute kidney injury, bradycardia, hypotension, hyperkalemia, and hospital length of stay were similar between groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Among patients hospitalized with HFrEF, a virtual care team guided strategy for GDMT optimization was safe and improved GDMT across multiple hospitals in an integrated health system. Virtual teams represent a centralized and scalable approach to optimize GDMT.

Trends in Heart Failure-Related Mortality Among Older Adults in the United States From 1999-2019

BACKGROUND

The U.S. population is aging with concurrent increases in heart failure (HF) burden. However, HF-related mortality trends among adults ≥75 years have not been investigated.

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this study was to assess the trends and regional differences in HF-related mortality among older adults in the United States.

METHODS

Death certificates from the CDC WONDER (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Wide-Ranging OnLine Data for Epidemiologic Research) database were examined from 1999 to 2019 for HF-related mortality in adults ≥75 years of age. Age-adjusted mortality rates (AAMRs) per 10,000 persons and annual percent change (APC) were calculated and stratified by year, sex, race/ethnicity, and geographic region.

RESULTS

Between 1999 and 2019, 5,014,919 HF-related deaths occurred among adults ≥75 years. The AAMR declined from 141.0 in 1999 to 108.3 in 2012 (APC: -2.1; 95% CI: -2.4 to -1.9), after which it increased to 121.3 in 2019 (APC: 1.7; 95% CI: 1.2-2.2). Men had consistently higher AAMR than women from 1999 (AAMR men: 158.3 vs women: 131.0) to 2019 (AAMR men: 141.1 vs women: 107.8). Non-Hispanic (NH) White adults had the highest overall AAMR (127.2), followed by NH Black (108.7), NH American Indian/Alaska Native (102.0), Hispanic or Latino (78.0), and NH Asian or Pacific Islander adults (57.1) AAMR also varied substantially by region (overall AAMR: Midwest 133.9; South: 119.2; West: 116.3; Northeast: 113.5), and nonmetropolitan areas had higher HF-related AAMR (147.0) than metropolitan areas (115.2). States in the top 90th percentile of HF-related AAMR were Mississippi, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Oregon, and Indiana, which had approximately double the AAMRs compared with states that fell into the lower 10th percentile.

CONCLUSIONS

Following a period of steady decline, HF-related mortality in U.S. adults ≥75 years has increased since 2012. The highest AAMRs were observed among White adults and men, and among patients living in the Midwestern and nonmetropolitan United States. Targeted strategies are needed to prevent and treat HF among older adults to curb increasing levels of HF-related mortality.

Cardiovascular Diseases in the Patients with Psoriatic Arthritis

There are limited data regarding the burden and trend of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in psoriatic arthritis (PsA). We analyzed the National Inpatient Sample database from January 2005 to December 2018 to examine the hospitalization trends amongst adults with PsA primarily for heart failure (HF), acute myocardial infarction (AMI), and stroke. The primary outcomes of interest included in-hospital mortality, length of stay (LOS), and inflation-adjusted cost. The age-adjusted percentage of HF hospitalizations among PsA patients decreased from 2.5% (2005/06) to 1.4% (2011/12; P-trend 0.013) and subsequently increased to 2.0% (2017/18; P-trend 0.044). The age-adjusted percentage of AMI hospitalizations among PsA patients showed a non-statistically significant decreasing trend from 2.1% (2005/06) to 1.7% (2011/12; P-trend 0.248) and showed a non-statistically significant increase to 2.3% (2017/18; P-trend 0.056). The age-adjusted stroke hospitalizations increased from 1.1% (2005/06) to 1.3% (2017/18; P-trend 0.036). Apart from a decrease in adjusted inflation-adjusted cost among heart failure hospitalizations, there was no significant change in inpatient mortality, length of stay or hospital cost, during the study period. We found an increasing trend of cardiovascular hospitalizations in patients with PsA. These findings will raise awareness and inform further research and clinical practice for PSA patients with CVD.