Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) is a condition in which the heart cannot pump enough blood to support the body's needs. CHF usually happens when another problem makes the heart weak. Commonly caused by coronary artery disease, high blood pressure and valvular heart disease, heart failure affects close to 5 million people in the United States alone.

Aging, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, smoking and alcohol abuse further increase the risk for heart failure. The American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology have published guidelines for quality standards of care for individuals with heart disease.

Rice Hospital is dedicated to providing quality care to the communities we serve and has adopted these standards into our practice. The goals for heart failure are based on the evidence of improved patient outcomes around primary care prevention and reduced hospitalizations. Once diagnosed with heart failure, the health care team at Rice is dedicated to your needs before, during and after hospitalization.

The following goals are important because research has shown improved outcomes when these goals are met:

• Discharge instructions - written instruction or educational material to all heart failure patients about activity level, diet, discharge medications, follow-up appointments, weight monitoring and what to do if symptoms worsen.
• Left ventricular function (LVF) assessment - hospital documentation of LVF assessment prior, during or after hospitalization.
• ACE medication for Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction (LSVD) and without angiotensin converting....
• Adult smoking cessation advice/counseling - heart failure patients with a history of smoking in the last year will receive advice/counseling for smoking cessation.

Resources:

American Medical Association
American Heart Institute
National Institutes of Health
Cardiovascular Health & Rehabilitation at Rice
Congestive Heart Failure Clinic at Rice