Heart Failure
Heart Failure (HF) is a chronic, progressive condition that requires ongoing management.1,2 It occurs when the heart is not able to properly circulate blood throughout the body following heart damage or because of a weak heart. The heart can also have trouble relaxing which allows blood to flow back from the lungs to the heart.
What is the burden of heart failure?
- 750,000 Canadians living with HF.1
- 1 in 3 Canadians touched by HF.1
- >100,000 Canadians diagnosed with HF annually.1
- > $2.8 billion/year in healthcare costs by 2030.1,3
- One of the top reasons for hospital admissions in Canada.1,4
- Worse survival than patients with some common cancers.5,6,7
What challenges do we face with heart failure?
- 4 in 10 Canadians do not understand what heart failure is.1
- <70% eligible Canadian patients on recommended medications.8,9,10,11,12
- <30% eligible Canadian patients achieving target medication doses.8,9,10,11,12
- 1 in 5 Canadian HF patients return to hospital within 30 days of last visit.1
- 30-day readmission rate has not changed in the last decade despite significant advances in medical therapy.13
- >60% of HF costs spent on in-patient care in the US (Vs. 7% spent on medications).14
What is the CCS doing to address gaps in heart failure care?
In 2022, the CCS formed a Heart Failure Working Group who supports the CCS in advocating for system-level changes that improve HF care in Canada.
As part of this work, we are calling on the federal government to provide CCS with $700,000/year over 5 years ($3.5 million total) to ensure Canadian HF patients receive optimal care. This will be complemented by advocacy activities at the provincial level as well.
Heart failure resources
- Heart and Stroke Foundation. Falling Short: How Canada is failing people with heart failure – and how we can change that. Available at: https://heartstrokeprod.azureedge.net/-/media/pdf-files/canada/2022-heart-month/hs-heart-failure-report-2022-final. Accessed on: April 20, 2022.
- Canadian Cardiovascular Society. Definitions of Heart Failure. Available at: https://ccs.ca/eguidelines/Content/Topics/HeartFailure/2%20Definitions%20of%20Heart%20Failure.htm. Accessed on November 30, 2021.
- Tran DT et al. The current and future financial burden of hospital admissions for heart failure in Canada: a cost analysis. CMAJ Open. 2016; 4:E365-E370.3
- Canadian Institute for Health Information. Hospital Stays in Canada. Available at: https://www.cihi.ca/en/hospital-stays-in-canada. Accessed on: May 11, 2022
- Mamas MA et al. Do patients have worse outcomes for heart failure than in cancer? A primary care-based cohort study with 10-year follow-up in Scotland. Eur J Heart Fail 2017;19:1095-1104.
- Benjamin EJ et al. Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics – 2017 Update: A Report from the American Heart Association. Circulation 2017;135:e146-e603.
- Roger VL et al. Trends in heart failure incidence and survival in a community-based population. JAMA 2004;292:344-350.
- Komajda M, Anker SD, Cowie MR, et al. Physicians’ adherence to guideline-recommended medications in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction: data from the QUALIFY global survey. Eur J Heart Fail 2016;18:514-522.
- De Groote P, Isnard R, Clerson P, et al. Improvement in the management of chronic heart failure since the publication of the updated guidelines of the European Society of Cardiology: the impact-reco programme. Eur J Heart Fail 2009;11:85-91.
- Greene SJ, Butler J, Albert NM et al. Medical therapy for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction: the CHAMP-HF registry. J Am Coll Cardiol 2018;72: 351-366.
- Lamb DA, Eurich DT, Mcalister FA, et al. Changes in adherence to evidence-based medications in the first year after initial hospitalization for heart failure observational cohort study from 1994 to 2003. Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes 2009;2:228-235.
- Thanassoulis G, Karp I, Humphries K, et al. Impact of restrictive prescription plans on heart failure medication use. Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes 2009; 2: 484-490.
- Poon et al. The state of heart failure in Canada: Minimal improvement in readmissions over time despite an increased number of evidence-based therapies. CJC Open. Article in press.
- Voigt J, John MS, Taylor A, Krucoff M, Reynolds MR, Gibson CM. A reevaluation of the costs of heart failure and its implications for allocation of health resources in the United States. Clinc Cardiol 2014;37:312-21.