Consensus statement on optimisation of patient care after hospitalisation for acute heart failure

Abstract

Following guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) is crucial for managing acute heart failure (AHF). Australia has poor adherence to GDMT with only a small proportion of eligible patients receiving optimal HF therapy. Therefore, there is a real need for unified recommendations to optimise GDMT for patients hospitalised with AHF in Australia. Using a modified DELPHI method, an expert panel of nine Australian clinicians with expertise in HF management convened to develop consensus statements aimed at guiding healthcare professionals in Australia on optimising GDMT. This document outlines a strategy for ensuring patients are started on GDMT while they are in hospital and that GDMT is optimised to maximum tolerated doses rapidly after discharge. This is especially critical because rapid optimisation of heart failure (HF) therapies and close follow-up in the early period after HF hospitalisation has been found to decrease all-cause mortality and reduce the risk of HF readmission. These consensus statements provide a practical framework to help Australian healthcare professionals in optimising GDMT for their patients. This framework is designed to enhance the current AHF guidelines. The consensus statements support the ongoing priority of optimising GDMT for AHF management aiming to ensure that eligible patients receive the optimal therapy for their clinical presentation.