2 The challenges and triumphs of establishing a heart failure programme in singapore

• Published in: Heart Asia Vol. 10; no. Suppl 1; p. A1
• Main Author: Sim, David KL
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.04.2018
• ISSN: 1759-1104
• DOI: 10.1136/heartasia-2018-apahff.2

Heart failure (HF) is a major global healthcare problem with an estimated prevalence of approximately 26 million. In Asia-Pacific regions, HF is associated with a significant socioeconomic burden and high rates of hospital admission.1 2 Though undesirable, hospitalisation is an opportunity to optimise HF therapy and advise clinicians and patients about the importance of continued adherence to HF medication and regular monitoring. Epidemiological data that could help to improve management approaches to address this burden in Asia-Pacific regions are limited, but suggest patients with HF in the Asia-Pacific are younger and have more severe signs and symptoms of HF than those of Western countries.3 4 The Heart Failure Care Program in the National Heart Centre Singapore which has been implemented since 2002, is designed to improve outcomes following HF hospitalisation through inexpensive initiatives to improve prescription of evidence-based drug therapies, patient education and engagement, and post-discharge planning in care and treatment adherence. Factors leading to successful implementation include support from HF specialists and local hospital leaders, multi-disciplinary collaboration, and full integration of pre- and post-hospital discharge checklists across care services.4 Effective evidence-based care can be achieved through the use of simple clinician and patient-focused tools. Our experience supports implementation of a more comprehensive and organised approach to HF care in Asia.References. Reyes EB, Ha JW, Firdaus I, et al. Heart Failure Across Asia: Same healthcare burden but differences in organisation of care. Int J Cardiol2016;223:163–167.. Cowie MR, Lopatin YM, Saldarriaga C, et al. The Optimise Heart Failure Care Program: Initial lessons from global implementation. Int J Cardiol2017;236:340–344.. Lam CSP, Teng THK, Tay WT, et al. Regional and ethnic differences among patients with heart failure in Asia: the Asian sudden cardiac death in heart failure registry. Eur Heart J2016; 37: 3141–3153.. Rajadurai J, Tse HF, Wang CH, et al. Understanding the epidemiology of heart failure to improve management practices: an Asian Pacific perspective. J Card Fail2017;23:327–339.