Cardiovascular Disease Recap: Hospitalization, Prevalence, and Outcomes

Although there has been a concentrated focus on pulmonary vascular diseases at this year’s CHEST conference, there have also been a number of studies released that pertain to cardiovascular events, such as congestive heart failure, atrial fibrillation, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Here are some of the highlights in these areas.

Carlin et al presented the information from their study, Rehospitalization Rates and Clinical Characteristics of Patients Enrolled in a Transition of Care Program Following Hospitalization for Congestive Heart Failure, which evaluated the outcomes of a home-care based, respiratory therapist-centered transition of care program on rehospitalization rates for patients hospitalized with congestive heart failure (CHF) that require supplemental oxygen following hospital discharge. The researchers also examined the clinical characteristics of patients that were enrolled in the program. The methods in this study included face-to-face visits on days 2, 7, and 30 following hospital discharge and a series of care coordinator phone interviews. Additionally, 30-day readmission rates following discharge were captured and data were collected from March 2010 to March 2012. Following an analysis of their results, the study authors concluded that “a patient-centered transition of care program can be successfully used to help reduce the 30-day readmission rates for patients following hospitalization for an exacerbation of their underlying CHF.”

For additional discussion on the challenges related to reducing readmission rates, check out AJMC’s video interview with Dr Brian Carlin.

Nessel et al released the information for their study, Incidence and Outcomes of Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation Treated With Rivaroxaban or Warfarin: Results From the ROCKET AF Trial. Because gastrointestinal hemorrhage (GI) is a common complication of anticoagulant therapy, the study authors aimed to investigate the incidence and outcomes of GI hemorrhage among patients in the ROCKET AF study. The ROCKET AF study included 14,264 patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation who were randomized to receive rivaroxaban or dose-adjusted warfarin. Following the analysis, the research team reported that “both major and non-major, clinically relevant GI bleeding were more common in patients with AF taking rivaroxaban than warfarin,” and that “there were fewer fatal GI bleeds on rivaroxaban and the absolute fatality rate was very low.”

Agarwal et al presented the findings from their study, Cardiovascular Disease Profile of Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Results From the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The study compared the prevalence of cerebrovascular disease (CCVD) between chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and non-COPD subjects. Additionally, among subjects without pre-existent CCVD, the study authors compared the short-term (10-year) and lifetime risk of development of CCVD in the 2 study groups. They observed “a significantly increased prevalence of CCVD among subjects with COPD,” and“among subjects without pre-existent CCVD, the risk of developing CCVD in the future was significantly higher in the COPD group as compared to the non-COPD group.”

To read more about research highlights at CHEST 2012, please visit the American College of Chest Physicians website.