Circulation-Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes最新文献

Background: Frailty before cardiovascular procedures is associated with poorer outcomes. While underutilized, cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is guideline-recommended for patients undergoing cardiovascular procedures and may help mitigate the effects of frailty. This study evaluated the association between preprocedural frailty and CR use, as well as the interaction of frailty and CR use on 1-year mortality.

Methods: Medicare fee-for-service claims were queried for patients undergoing percutaneous or surgical revascularization or aortic valve replacement between July 2016 and December 2018. Patients who experienced mortality during the index admission or within 30 days of discharge were excluded. Patients were stratified into quartiles (Q1-Q4) using the validated claims-based frailty index (CFI). CR use was defined as attending any CR session within 1 year of discharge. Unadjusted comparisons and multivariable analyses were used to evaluate the relationship between frailty and CR use (CFI-Q4 versus CFI-Q1). An inverse probability treatment weighting model was used to determine if there was an interaction between CR, frailty, and 1-year mortality.

Results: Overall CR use among the 501 049 beneficiaries was 37.7%; the average age was 75.9 years (SD, 7.3), and 37.0% were female. Increasing frailty was associated with decreased CR use (CFI-Q1: 49.7%, CFI-Q2: 42.2%, CFI-Q3: 35.3%, and CFI-Q4: 23.7%; P<0.001; adjusted odds ratio_{CFI-Q4 versus CFI-Q1}, 0.63 [95% CI, 0.62-0.64]). Unadjusted 1-year mortality was higher with increasing frailty (CFI Q1: 2.5%, CFI-Q2: 5.1%, CFI-Q3: 9.0%, and CFI Q4: 16.9%; P<0.001). After adjustment, the reduction in mortality associated with CR use was greater among frailer patients relative to less frail patients (CFI-Q4: 9.2% and CFI-Q1: 1.7%; P<0.001). CR use was associated with a significantly reduced association between CFI and 1-year mortality (P<0.001).

Conclusions: Preprocedural frailty is associated with lower CR use despite greater absolute benefits on 1-year mortality. Increasing CR use of frail Medicare beneficiaries may reduce 1-year mortality after cardiac interventions.

Background: Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) remains underutilized, particularly in socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. It has been proposed that the use of combination pills (polypills) may facilitate prescribing of GDMT and increase adherence. Understanding patient perspectives on implementation barriers and facilitators to the use of polypills is needed for developing effective strategies. Methods: A convergent, parallel, mixed-methods study was conducted with participants who participated in a Phase II randomized controlled trial of an HFrEF polypill (POLY-HF; NCT04633005) in Dallas, Texas. Six focus groups were conducted with participants from both polypill and usual care arms, followed by brief surveys. Qualitative data were analyzed using directed content analysis organized by a socioecological framework to identify barriers and facilitators across individual, interpersonal, and systems levels. Descriptive statistics characterized medication burden and polypill preferences. Results: Study participants (n=41) included trial participants (n=36, mean 53 years, 53% Black race, 39% Hispanic) and caregivers (n=5). Quantitative data revealed substantial medication burden, with 58% taking ≥6 medications and 50.0% reporting missed doses, primarily due to forgetting (44%). 88.6% expressed interest in a polypill approach, and 83% believed it would improve adherence. Qualitative analysis identified multi-level implementation barriers and facilitators. Individual-level barriers included pill size concerns and uncertainty about polypill contents, while facilitators encompassed reduced pill burden, psychological benefits of taking fewer medications, and perceived health improvements. Interpersonal facilitators included caregiver enthusiasm for simplified medication management and strong provider trust. Systems level barriers centered on cost concerns, while institutional trust facilitated acceptance. Mixed-methods integration revealed convergent findings. Quantitative medication burden aligned with qualitative themes of regimen complexity, while high quantitative interest in polypills was contextualized by practical implementation considerations regarding formulation and delivery. Conclusions: In socioeconomically disadvantaged patients with HFrEF, a polypill strategy demonstrated strong patient acceptability, supporting further implementation research.

Background: In a universal health care system, geographic disparities in atrial fibrillation (AF) outcomes remain poorly understood. This study aimed to evaluate rural-urban differences in clinical outcomes among patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) with AF.

Methods: We conducted a population-based retrospective cohort study of all adults (aged ≥18 years) presenting to an ED in Ontario, Canada, with a primary diagnosis of AF between April 1, 2012, and March 31, 2022. Rural residence was defined as living in a community with a population of ≤10 000. The primary outcome was a composite of all-cause mortality or hospital admission within 1 year; secondary outcomes included the individual components of the primary outcome and all-cause ED visits. Comparisons were adjusted for demographics and baseline comorbidities using inverse probability of treatment weighting. Cox regression was used for end points that included death.

Results: Among 104 195 eligible patients, 16 860 (16.2%) resided in rural communities. After inverse probability of treatment weighting, baseline characteristics were well balanced (standardized differences <0.1) as the mean age was 69.4 years in rural and urban groups; 47.2% were women in the rural group versus 47.1% in the urban group. Within 1 year, patients with AF presenting to the ED in rural Ontario had higher rate of all-cause mortality or admission compared with the urban group (34.6% versus 33.5%; hazard ratio, 1.04 [95% CI, 1.01-1.07]), driven primarily by increased hospital admission rates (31.3% versus 29.7%; hazard ratio, 1.06 [95% CI, 1.03-1.09]). ED visit rates were higher in rural patients (63.8% versus 55.3%; hazard ratio, 1.27 [95% CI, 1.25-1.30]), while mortality was similar (9.8% versus 9.9%; hazard ratio, 1.00 [95% CI, 0.95-1.04]).

Conclusions: Despite universal health care coverage, rural-urban disparities in AF outcomes persist. Rural patients with AF had higher acute care utilization compared with urban patients. System interventions are needed to address inequities for rural populations.

Background: Invasive coronary angiography (ICA) and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) are common procedures for the diagnosis and treatment of coronary artery disease (CAD). These procedures are typically performed within the parameters of insurance coverage, but little is known about how insurance policies align with guidelines and landmark randomized clinical trials.

Methods: We developed 6 use cases (3 each for ICA and PCI) of clinical scenarios for stable CAD commonly encountered in clinical practice and compared policies of the largest US public and private payers (based on total revenue and number of beneficiaries) to the 2012 and 2023 professional society guidelines as well as the ORBITA (Objective Randomized Blinded Investigation With Optimal Medical Therapy of Angioplasty in Stable Angina) and ISCHEMIA (Initial Invasive or Conservative Strategy for Stable Coronary Disease) trials. We classified policies as more restrictive, equal, or less restrictive than the guidelines and published randomized clinical trials by evaluating them on parameters of optimal medical therapy (OMT) and noninvasive imaging for ICA policies; and OMT, anatomic severity of CAD, and ability to proceed with PCI for PCI policies. We summarized findings with descriptive statistics.

Results: Among 33 payers, 18 (55%) ICA and 14 (42%) PCI policies were publicly available. When comparing requirements for OMT among symptomatic patients before ICA, 22% of policies were less restrictive, 75% were equivalent, and 3% were more restrictive than the 2012 and 2023 professional society guidelines. For the number of OMT medications among symptomatic patients before ICA, 44% were less restrictive and 56% were equivalent compared with the ORBITA trial. When comparing requirements for OMT for symptomatic patients before PCI, 21% of policies were less restrictive, 75% were equivalent, and 4% were more restrictive than the 2012 and 2023 guidelines.

Conclusions: ICA and PCI coverage policies were only publicly available for approximately half of the largest US insurers, indicating need for greater transparency. When available, policies were variable in their alignment with clinical practice guidelines.

Background: The Target Stroke Phase III program is a national quality improvement initiative led by the American Heart Association, which sought to improve the quality of care for patients with acute stroke undergoing acute reperfusion therapy including endovascular thrombectomy (EVT).

Methods: A retrospective, observational cohort study was performed using data from the American Heart Association Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Program between January 1, 2017, and March 31, 2022. Three categories of patients were analyzed: (1) patients who arrived directly at the thrombectomy hospital and had EVT, (2) patients who were transferred in from a nonthrombectomy hospital and had EVT, and (3) patients at a nonthrombectomy hospital who were potentially eligible for EVT, received intravenous thrombolysis, and were transferred out. The primary end point of this study for thrombectomy hospitals was door-to-puncture time.

Results: In direct-arriving EVT patients, 2 Target Stroke Phase III strategies were independently associated with shorter door-to-puncture time: (1) alerting the neurointerventional team based on emergency medical services prenotification (-21.9 [95% CI, -42.5 to -1.3] minutes) and (2) performance of a brain computed tomography and computed tomography angiography in all patients presenting ≤24 hours from time last known well (-6.6 [95% CI, -11.8 to -1.5] minutes). In transfer-in EVT patients, 2 Target Stroke Phase III strategies were independently associated with a shorter door-to-puncture time: (1) increased use of stroke screening tools (-3.5 [95% CI, -6.4 to -0.6] minutes per 25% increase in use of the screening tool) and (2) increased use of a camera during telestroke consultations (-5.8 [95% CI, -10.7 to -0.9] minutes per 25% increase in camera use).

Conclusions: Several Target Stroke Phase III strategies are associated with more timely care, which are distinctly different for thrombectomy and nonthrombectomy hospitals and for patients arriving by emergency medical services compared with interfacility transfer.

Background: Although cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States among Medicare beneficiaries, management of modifiable risk factors remains suboptimal. Medicare Advantage (MA) enrollment has increased substantially; therefore, understanding the quality of cardiovascular risk factor management in MA is critical. In this study, we evaluated whether cardiovascular risk factor management was better among MA compared with traditional Medicare (TM) beneficiaries.

Methods: We linked physical examination and laboratory data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2015-2018) to Medicare enrollment data. We calculated age- and sex-standardized differences for treatment and control rates of hypertension, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia among adults ≥65 years enrolled in MA compared with TM. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey weights were used to calculate nationally representative estimates.

Results: The weighted study population included 45 426 712 adults (34.4% MA, 65.6% TM). The mean age was 72.9 years and 55.3% were female. MA beneficiaries were more likely to be female (58.5% versus 53.5%), less likely to be White (71.7% versus 81.7%), and more likely to have household incomes <100% poverty (11.4% versus 7.0%). Treatment rates for hypertension (82.3% versus 79.1%; SD, 3.4 percentage points [pp]; [95% CI, -1.1 to 7.9]), hyperlipidemia (56.4% versus 56.0%; SD, 0.5 pp [95% CI, -5.7 to 6.8]), and diabetes (76.3% versus 82.5%; SD, -5.0 pp [95% CI, -13.1 to 3.1]) did not significantly differ between MA and TM beneficiaries. There were also no differences in control rates for hypertension (43.6% versus 46.1%; SD, -1.2 pp [95% CI, -8.8 to 6.4]), hyperlipidemia (51.5% versus 48.0%; SD, 4.0 pp [95% CI, -1.7 to 9.7]), and diabetes (61.5% versus 55.3%; SD, 4.4 pp [95% CI, -6.3 to 15.1]).

Conclusions: Despite the rapid rise in MA enrollment among individuals with cardiovascular risk factors and disease over the past decade, treatment and control rates for hypertension, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia were similar between MA and TM beneficiaries.