Palliative Care Education in Cardiovascular Disease Fellowships: A National Survey of Program Directors.

BACKGROUND: Palliative care (PC) is an essential component of high-quality care for people with cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, little is known about the current state of PC education in CVD training, including attitudes toward integration of PC into training and implementation of PC by the program's leadership. METHODS: We developed a nationwide, cross-sectional survey that queried education approaches, perspectives and barriers to PC education in general CVD fellowship training. The survey was distributed to 392 members of the American College of Cardiology Program Director (PD) listserv, representing 290 general CVD fellowships between 1/2023 and 4/2023. We performed descriptive and ꭕ2 analyses of survey data. RESULTS: Of the program's representatives, 56 completed the survey (response rate = 19.3%). Respondents identified themselves as current PDs (89%), associate PDs (8.9%) or former PDs (1.8%), representing a diverse range of program sizes and types and regions of the country. Respondents reported the use of informal bedside teaching (88%), formal didactics (59%), online or self-paced modules (13%), in-person simulation (11%), and clinical rotations (16%) to teach PC content. Most programs covered PC topics at least annually, although there was variability by topic. We found no associations between program demographics and type or frequency of PC education. Most respondents reported dissatisfaction with the quantity (62%) or quality (59%) of the PC education provided. Barriers to PC education included an overabundance of other content to cover (36%) and perceived lack of fellow (20%) or faculty (18%) interest. Comments demonstrated the importance of PC education in fellowship, the lack of a requirement to provide PC education, difficulty in covering all topics, and suggestions of how PC skills should be taught. CONCLUSIONS: In a national survey of CVD educational leadership concerning approaches to PC education in CVD training, respondents highlighted both challenges to implementation of formal PC curricula in cardiology training and opportunities for comprehensive PC education.

Integration of palliative care across the spectrum of heart failure care and therapies: considerations, contemporary data, and challenges.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Heart failure (HF) is characterized by significant symptoms, compromised quality of life, frequent hospital admissions, and high mortality, and is therefore well suited to palliative care (PC) intervention. This review elaborates the current PC needs of patients with HF across the spectrum of disease, including patients who undergo advanced HF surgical therapies, and reviews the current data and future directions for PC integration in HF care. RECENT FINDINGS: Patients with chronic HF, as well as those who are being evaluated for or who have undergone advanced HF surgical therapies such as left ventricular assist device or heart transplantation, have a number of PC needs, including decision-making, symptoms and quality of life, caregiver support, and end-of-life care. Available data primarily supports the use of PC interventions in chronic HF to improve quality of life and symptoms. PC skills and teams may also help address preparedness planning, adverse events, and psychosocial barriers in patients who have had HF surgeries, but more data are needed to determine association with outcomes. SUMMARY: Patients with HF have tremendous PC needs across the spectrum of disease. Despite this, more data are needed to determine the optimal timing and structure of PC interventions in patients with chronic HF, left ventricular assist device, and heart transplantation. Future steps must be taken in clinical, research, and policy domains in order to optimize care.

Palliative Care for Patients With Heart Failure: Results From a Heart Failure Society of America Survey.

BACKGROUND: Multiple guidelines recommend specialty palliative care (PC) for patients with heart failure (HF), including patients with left ventricular assist devices (LVADs). However, the degree of integration and clinicians' perceptions of PC in HF care remain incompletely characterized. METHODS AND RESULTS: A 36-item survey was sent to 2109 members of the Heart Failure Society of America. Eighty respondents (53% physicians), including 51 respondents from at least 42 medical centers, completed the survey, with the majority practicing in urban (76%) academic medical centers (62%) that implanted LVADs (81%). Among the 42 unique medical centers identified, respondents reported both independent (40%) and integrated (40%) outpatient PC clinic models, whereas 12% reported not having outpatient PC at their institutions. A minority (12%) reported that their institution used triggered PC referrals based on objective clinical data. Of respondents from LVAD sites, the majority reported that a clinician from the PC team was required to see all patients prior to implantation, but there was variability in practices. Among all respondents, the most common reasons for PC referral in HF were poor prognosis, consideration of advanced cardiac therapies or other high-risk procedures and advance-care planning or goals-of-care discussions. The most frequent perceived barriers to PC consultation included lack of PC clinicians, unpredictable HF clinical trajectories and limited understanding of how PC can complement traditional HF care. CONCLUSION: PC integration and clinician perceptions of services vary in HF care. More research and guidance regarding evidence-based models of PC delivery in HF are needed.

Association Between End-Stage Liver Disease and Incident Heart Failure in an Integrated Health System.

BACKGROUND: End-stage liver disease (ESLD) and heart failure (HF) often coexist and are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. However, the true incidence of HF among patients with ESLD remains understudied. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate the association between ESLD and incident HF in a real-world clinical cohort. DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS: A retrospective electronic health records database analysis of individuals with ESLD and frequency-matched controls without ESLD in a large integrated health system. MAIN MEASURES: The primary outcome was incident HF, which was defined by the International Classification of Disease codes and manually adjudicated by physician reviewers. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate the cumulative incidence of HF. Multivariate proportional hazards models adjusted for shared metabolic factors (diabetes, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, coronary heart disease, body mass index) were used to compare the risk of HF in patients with and without ESLD. KEY RESULTS: Of 5004 patients (2502 with ESLD and 2502 without ESLD), the median (Q1-Q3) age was 57.0 (55.0-65.0) years, 59% were male, and 18% had diabetes. Over a median (Q1-Q3) follow-up of 2.3 (0.6-6.0) years, 121 incident HF cases occurred. Risk for incident HF was significantly higher for patients with ESLD compared with the non-ESLD group (adjusted HR: 4.67; 95% CI: 2.82-7.75; p < 0.001), with the majority of the ESLD group (70.7%) having HF with preserved ejection fraction (ejection fraction ≥ 50%). CONCLUSION: ESLD was significantly associated with a higher risk of incident HF, independent of shared metabolic risk factors, with the predominant phenotype being HF with preserved ejection fraction.

Deaths from hepatocellular carcinoma are more likely to occur in medical facilities than deaths from other cancers: 2003-2018.

Place of death is a key indicator of quality of end-of-life care, and most people with a terminal diagnosis prefer to die at home. Home has surpassed the hospital as the most common location of all-cause and total cancer-related deaths in the United States. However, trends in place of death due to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which is uniquely comanaged by hepatologists and oncologists, have not been described. We analysed US death certificate data from 2003 to 2018 for the proportion of deaths over time at medical facilities, nursing facilities, hospice facilities and home, for HCC and non-HCC cancer. The proportion of deaths increased from 0.6% to 15.2% in hospice facilities (P trend < 0.0001) but did not change at home. In multivariable analysis, persons with HCC were more likely than persons with non-HCC cancer to die in medical facilities, while persons with HCC were less likely to die at home.

Role of Palliative Care in the Outpatient Management of the Chronic Heart Failure Patient.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Patients with heart failure (HF) have an increased symptom burden and complex psychosocial and decision-making needs that necessitate the integration of palliative care. However, in the current era, palliative care is frequently evoked for these patients only at the end-of-life or in the inpatient setting; rarely is palliative care proactively utilized in outpatients with HF. The purpose of this review is to evaluate the current state of palliative care and heart failure and to provide a roadmap for the integration of palliative care into outpatient HF care. RECENT FINDINGS: Recent studies, including PAL-HF, CASA, and SWAP-HF, have demonstrated that structured palliative care interventions may improve quality of life, depression, anxiety, understanding of prognosis, and well-being in HF. HF is associated with high mortality risk, significant symptom burden, and impaired quality of life. Palliative care can meet many of these needs; however, in the current era, palliative care consultations in HF occur late in the disease course and too often in the inpatient setting. Primary palliative care should be provided to all outpatients with heart failure based on their needs, with referral to secondary palliative care provided based on certain triggers and milestones.

Race, substance use, and evaluation for heart transplantation: Insights from a large urban medical center.

It is unknown whether racial disparities in access to heart transplantation (HT) are amplified when coupled with substance use. We examined patients evaluated for HT over 8 years at an urban transplant center. We evaluated substance use and race/ethnicity as independent and interactive predictors of HT and left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation. Of 1,148 patients evaluated for HT, substance use was cited as an ineligibility factor in 151 (13%) patients, 16 (11%) of whom ultimately received HT. Significantly more non-Hispanic Black (NHB) patients were deemed ineligible due to substance use (n = 59, 19%) compared to other races/ethnicities (non-Hispanic white: n = 68, 12%; other race/ethnicity: n = 24, p = 0.002). No racial differences were observed in the likelihood of HT among patients initially excluded for substances, but more NHB patients ultimately received LVAD than the other racial groups. This study encourages greater awareness of the role of substance use and race in the HT evaluation.

Variation in Risk-Standardized Acute Admission Rates Among Patients With Heart Failure in Accountable Care Organizations: Implications for Quality Measurement.

Background Accountable care organizations (ACOs) aim to improve health care quality and reduce costs, including among patients with heart failure (HF). However, variation across ACOs in admission rates for patients with HF and associated factors are not well described. Methods and Results We identified Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries with HF who were assigned to a Medicare Shared Savings Program ACO in 2017 and survived ≥30 days into 2018. We calculated risk-standardized acute admission rates across ACOs, assigned ACOs to 1 of 3 performance categories, and examined associations between ACO characteristics and performance categories. Among 1 232 222 beneficiaries with HF, 283 795 (mean age, 81 years; 54% women; 86% White; 78% urban) were assigned to 1 of 467 Medicare Shared Savings Program ACOs. Across ACOs, the median risk-standardized acute admission rate was 87 admissions per 100 people, ranging from 61 (minimum) to 109 (maximum) admissions per 100 beneficiaries. Compared to the overall average, 13% of ACOs performed better on risk-standardized acute admission rates, 72% were no different, and 14% performed worse. Most ACOs with better performance had fewer Black beneficiaries and were not hospital affiliated. Most ACOs that performed worse than average were large, located in the Northeast, had a hospital affiliation, and had a lower proportion of primary care providers. Conclusions Admissions are common among beneficiaries with HF in ACOs, and there is variation in risk-standardized acute admission rates across ACOs. ACO performance was associated with certain ACO characteristics. Future studies should attempt to elucidate the relationship between ACO structure and characteristics and admission risk.

Change in Caregiver Health-Related Quality of Life From Before to Early After Surgery: SUSTAIN-IT Study.

BACKGROUND: Information about health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among caregivers of older patients with heart failure who receive heart transplantation (HT) and mechanical circulatory support (MCS) is sparse. We describe differences and factors associated with change in HRQOL before and early post-surgery among caregivers of older heart failure patients who underwent 3 surgical therapies: HT with pretransplant MCS (HT MCS), HT without pretransplant MCS (HT non-MCS), and long-term MCS. METHODS: Caregivers of older patients (60-80 years) from 13 US sites completed the EQ-5D-3 L visual analog scale (0 [worst]-100 [best] imaginable health state) and dimensions before and 3 and 6 months post-surgery. Analyses included linear regression, t tests, and nonparametric tests. RESULTS: Among 227 caregivers (HT MCS=54, HT non-MCS=76, long-term MCS=97; median age 62.7 years, 30% male, 84% White, 83% spouse/partner), EQ-5D visual analog scale scores were high before (84.8±14.1) and at 3 (84.7±13.0) and 6 (83.9±14.7) months post-surgery, without significant differences among groups or changes over time. Patient pulmonary hypertension presurgery (ß=-13.72 [95% CI, -21.07 to -6.36]; P<0.001) and arrhythmia from 3 to 6 months post-operatively (ß=-14.22 [95% CI, -27.41 to -1.02]; P=0.035) were associated with the largest decrements in caregiver HRQOL; patient marital/partner status (ß=6.21 [95% CI, 1.34-11.08]; P=0.013) and presurgery coronary disease (ß=8.98 [95% CI, 4.07-13.89]; P<0.001) were associated with the largest improvements. CONCLUSIONS: Caregivers of older patients undergoing heart failure surgeries reported overall high HRQOL before and early post-surgery. Understanding factors associated with caregiver HRQOL may inform decision-making and support needs. REGISTRATION: URL: https://www. CLINICALTRIALS: gov; Unique identifier: NCT02568930.

Heart-Kidney Transplantation in a Transgender Woman.

We describe the care of a transgender woman with heart failure who underwent heart-kidney transplantation. Perioperative management of hormone therapy, considerations for future gender-affirming surgeries, and psychosocial aspects of care are discussed. Interdisciplinary collaboration is essential in the treatment of patients with advanced heart failure in the setting of gender-affirming therapies. (Level of Difficulty: Advanced.).

Time Spent Engaging in Health Care Among Patients With Left Ventricular Assist Devices.

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to examine a novel patient-centered metric of time spent engaging in left ventricular assist device (LVAD)-related clinical care outside the home. BACKGROUND: Although LVAD implantation can improve survival and functional capacity in patients with advanced heart failure, this may occur at the expense of significant time spent engaging in LVAD-related health care activities. METHODS: The authors retrospectively assessed consecutive patients at a single center who received a continuous-flow LVAD between May 9, 2008, and December 31, 2019, and queried health care encounters after implantation, including all inpatient encounters and LVAD-related ambulatory encounters. Patient-level time metrics were determined, including the total number of days with any health care encounter, and the total estimated time spent receiving care. The primary outcome was the proportion (%) of days alive with an LVAD spent engaged in at least 1 health care encounter. The secondary outcome was the proportion (%) of total time alive with an LVAD spent receiving care. RESULTS: Among 373 patients, the median number of days alive with LVAD was 390 (IQR: 158-840 days). Patients had a median number of 88 (IQR: 45-161) days with ≥1 health care encounter, accounting for 23.2% (IQR: 16.3%-32.4%) of their days alive with an LVAD. A median 6.0% (IQR: 2.1%-14.1%) and 15.0% (IQR: 10.7%-20.0%) of total days alive were spent in inpatient and ambulatory encounters, respectively. Patients spent a median of 592 (IQR: 197-1,257) hours receiving care, accounting for 5.6% (IQR: 2.2%-12.7%) of their total time alive with an LVAD. CONCLUSIONS: LVAD patients spent more than 1 of every 5 days engaging in health care. Our findings may inform strategies to improve efficiency of postdischarge care delivery and expectations for post-treatment care.

Association between statin use and cognitive function: A systematic review of randomized clinical trials and observational studies.

The US Food and Drug Administration issued a black box warning in 2012 regarding the association of statin use with cognitive impairment. This may deter patients and practitioners from using statins for guideline-directed indications. Large studies have not shown an increase in cognitive impairment with statin use. MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases were searched up to October 2019. We present an up-to-date systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and prospective observational studies examining the association between statin use and cognitive status in a population aged ≥60 years. Twenty-four studies with 1,404,459 participants were included in the review. Twenty-one were prospective observational studies, and 3 were RCTs. All 3 RCTs, which ranged from 3.2 to 5.6 years of follow-up, showed no significant association between statin use and adverse cognitive effects (odds ratio [OR] 1.03 [0.82-1.30]) and (OR 1.0 [0.61-1.65]). The mean difference in the Mini-Mental State Examination was insignificant (0.06 [-0.04 to 0.16]) in the third RCT. The follow-up for observational studies ranged from 3 to 15 years. Ten observational studies showed reduced incidence of dementia. Seven showed no association with incident dementia. Three studies showed decline in cognition was similar, whereas one showed slower decline with statin use. There was no evidence of adverse cognitive effects, including incidence of dementia, deterioration in global cognition, or specific cognitive domains associated with statin use in individuals aged ≥60 years. Future studies should examine this association in studies with longer follow-up periods.

Perceptions of Bereaved Caregivers and Clinicians About End-of-Life Care for Patients With Destination Therapy Left Ventricular Assist Devices.

Background Patients with left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) implanted as destination therapy may receive suboptimal preparation for and care at the end of life, but there is limited understanding of the reasons for these shortcomings. Exploring perceptions of individuals (caregivers and clinicians) who are closely involved in the end-of-life experience with patients with destination therapy LVADs can help identify key opportunities for improving care. Methods and Results We conducted semistructured qualitative interviews with 7 bereaved caregivers of patients with destination therapy LVADs and 10 interdisciplinary LVAD clinicians. Interviews explored perceptions of preparing for end of life, communicating about end of life, and providing and receiving end-of-life care, and were analyzed using a 2-step team-based inductive approach to coding and analysis. Six themes pertaining to end-of-life experiences were derived: (1) timing end-of-life discussions in the setting of unpredictable illness trajectories, (2) prioritizing end-of-life preparation and decision-making, (3) communicating uncertainty while providing support and hope, (4) lack of consensus on responsibility for end-of-life discussions, (5) perception of the LVAD team as invincible, and (6) divergent perceptions of LVAD withdrawal. Conclusions This study revealed 6 unique aspects of end-of-life care for patients with destination therapy LVADs as reported by clinicians and caregivers. Themes coalesced around communication, team-based care, and challenges unique to patients with LVADs at end of life. Programmatic changes may address some aspects, including training clinicians in LVAD-specific communication skills. Other aspects, such as standardizing the role of the palliative care team and developing practical interventions that enable timely advance care planning during LVAD care, will require multifaceted interventions.

Inter-vendor variability and reproducibility of subcostal left ventricular longitudinal strain.

Left ventricular longitudinal strain (LVLS) performed using subcostal windows is a novel alternative for patients who require strain imaging but have poor apical windows. We investigated the reproducibility and inter-vendor variability of subcostal LVLS. One hundred and twenty-four echocardiographic studies were analysed from 73 women with early stage HER2-positive breast cancer. Speckle tracking strain was performed offline using EchoPAC and TomTec on subcostal 4-chamber and 3-chamber views to obtain subcostal 4-chamber (SC4_LS) and 3-chamber (SC3_LS) LVLS which was then averaged (SCav_LS). Reproducibility of subcostal single chamber and averaged LVLS were assessed. Measurements between platforms were compared. Strain was reported in absolute magnitude. EchoPAC measurements of SC3_LS (20.5 ± 2.4% vs. 21.2 ± 2.5%, p = 0.002) and SCav_LS (20.9 ± 2.1% vs. 21.2 ± 2.1%, p = 0.02) were lower than TomTec measurements while SC4_LS was similar (21.3 ± 2.7% vs. 21.3 ± 2.5%, p = 0.94). Mean differences between EchoPAC and TomTec were ≤ 0.6% strain units for all subcostal LVLS measurements; SCav_LS showed the narrowest limits of agreement (LOA) (mean difference - 0.3%, LOA - 3.2 to 2.6%). EchoPAC and TomTec measurements of SCav_LS showed good correlation (r = 0.76, p < 0.001). Intra-observer and inter-observer analysis showed good reproducibility. Inter-observer variability was lower than inter-vendor variability; SCav_LS was most reproducible: inter-observer relative mean error was 3.6% for EchoPAC and 4.3% for TomTec and inter-observer LOA were ± 2.1% for EchoPAC and ± 2.6% for TomTec. Averaged subcostal LVLS was highly reproducible with inter-observer variability comparable to GLS. Inter-vendor differences in averaged subcostal LVLS were small but statistically significant.

5HT1A-mediated stimulation of cortisol release in major depression: use of non-invasive cortisol measurements to predict clinical response.

The purpose of the present study was to explore 5HT1A-mediated cortisol release in major depressive disorder (MDD) patients in order to determine whether the degree of 5HT1A-receptor sensitivity can predict response to treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). We examined whether the sensitivity of the 5HT1A receptor, as measured by the difference in salivary cortisol levels immediately before and 90 min following the administration of a single dose of the 5HT1A-selective agonist buspirone, predicted treatment outcome following an 8-week, fixed-dose, open trial of the SSRI escitalopram in 17 outpatients with MDD. Change in cortisol levels before and 90 min after the administration of buspirone were not found to predict treatment outcome, whether defined as clinical response (50% or greater reduction in symptom severity), or remission of symptoms. In conclusion, in the present study, we did not find that the change in salivary cortisol levels following the administration of a 5HT1A-selective agonist predicted treatment outcome following an 8-week, fixed-dose, open-label trial of the SSRI escitalopram among outpatients with MDD. Although the 5HT1A-desensitization hypothesis is still a valid one, the results of the present study could not provide any evidence in support.