- Email: [email protected]
Heart Failure
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Preface H e a r t Fa i l u r e
Jennifer Kitchens, MSN, RN, ACNS-BC, CVRN Editors
Lenora Maze, MSN, RN, CNRN
The cost impact of heart failure in the critical care environment and health care system, as a whole, is significant. Heart failure is the only cardiovascular disease that is increasing. There are 6.5 million hospital days a year and nearly $40 billion dollars in yearly health care costs attributed to heart failure in the United States. Over $2.9 billion dollars is spent annually on the pharmaceutical management of heart failure in the United States. There are more Medicare monies spent for diagnosing and treating heart failure than any other diagnosis-related group. This diagnosis is the leading cause of hospitalization for patients who are 65 years of age and older. There is a 24% 30-day hospital readmission rate for this diagnosis, which leads to financial implications for health care systems. The human cost is also significant. Less than half of Americans diagnosed with heart failure survive greater than 5 years. The ongoing health care needs and cost of this chronic disease take a significant toll on patients’ finances, time, and quality of life. Few health care providers in the critical care environment are not affected by heart failure on a routine basis. Caring for these patients and their families is both a challenging and yet a rewarding experience. Critical Care Nurses can benefit from expanded knowledge of heart failure strategies and interventions to appropriately manage patient care throughout the trajectory of this illness. This issue provides critical care nurses with a comprehensive heart failure review, which is essential given the dynamic health and critical care environments. We would like to thank each of the authors for sharing their expertise with nurses who care for patients with heart failure in the critical care
Crit Care Nurs Clin N Am - (2015) -–http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cnc.2015.09.001 0899-5885/15/$ – see front matter Ó 2015 Published by Elsevier Inc.
ccnursing.theclinics.com
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Preface
setting. We found both the topics and the content of various aspects of heart failure care to be exceptional and hope that you agree. Jennifer Kitchens, MSN, RN, ACNS-BC, CVRN Clinical Nurse Specialist Acuity Adaptable Risk Management Eskenazi Health 720 Eskenazi Avenue Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA Lenora Maze, MSN, RN, CNRN Clinical Nurse Specialist Critical Care and Neuroscience Risk Management Eskenazi Health 720 Eskenazi Avenue Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA E-mail addresses: [email protected] (J. Kitchens) [email protected] (L. Maze)
Preface H e a r t Fa i l u r e
Jennifer Kitchens, MSN, RN, ACNS-BC, CVRN Editors
Lenora Maze, MSN, RN, CNRN
The cost impact of heart failure in the critical care environment and health care system, as a whole, is significant. Heart failure is the only cardiovascular disease that is increasing. There are 6.5 million hospital days a year and nearly $40 billion dollars in yearly health care costs attributed to heart failure in the United States. Over $2.9 billion dollars is spent annually on the pharmaceutical management of heart failure in the United States. There are more Medicare monies spent for diagnosing and treating heart failure than any other diagnosis-related group. This diagnosis is the leading cause of hospitalization for patients who are 65 years of age and older. There is a 24% 30-day hospital readmission rate for this diagnosis, which leads to financial implications for health care systems. The human cost is also significant. Less than half of Americans diagnosed with heart failure survive greater than 5 years. The ongoing health care needs and cost of this chronic disease take a significant toll on patients’ finances, time, and quality of life. Few health care providers in the critical care environment are not affected by heart failure on a routine basis. Caring for these patients and their families is both a challenging and yet a rewarding experience. Critical Care Nurses can benefit from expanded knowledge of heart failure strategies and interventions to appropriately manage patient care throughout the trajectory of this illness. This issue provides critical care nurses with a comprehensive heart failure review, which is essential given the dynamic health and critical care environments. We would like to thank each of the authors for sharing their expertise with nurses who care for patients with heart failure in the critical care
Crit Care Nurs Clin N Am - (2015) -–http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cnc.2015.09.001 0899-5885/15/$ – see front matter Ó 2015 Published by Elsevier Inc.
ccnursing.theclinics.com
ii
Preface
setting. We found both the topics and the content of various aspects of heart failure care to be exceptional and hope that you agree. Jennifer Kitchens, MSN, RN, ACNS-BC, CVRN Clinical Nurse Specialist Acuity Adaptable Risk Management Eskenazi Health 720 Eskenazi Avenue Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA Lenora Maze, MSN, RN, CNRN Clinical Nurse Specialist Critical Care and Neuroscience Risk Management Eskenazi Health 720 Eskenazi Avenue Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA E-mail addresses: [email protected] (J. Kitchens) [email protected] (L. Maze)