Arguably, the sense of normalcy in life is an elusive subject, mainly in the context of high-risk patient populations. In essence, these patients battling with terminal illnesses are compelled by circumstances beyond their control to confront the bitter reality that hospital readmissions might be a norm in their lives, bearing in mind the mental anguish and financial constraints imposed by hospital readmissions. The primary focus of this paper is to identify and discuss a diagnosis among elderly persons with heart failure categorized as high-risk patient populations that are commonly readmitted to the hospital. Additionally, it extensively examines the rationale for readmissions among older people battling heart failure and provides evidence-based interventions for reducing hospital readmissions in this population.
Notably, heart failure is a primary global health concern that is slowly but surely worsening and requires expansive treatment due to its high morbidity and mortality rate (Hollenberg et al., 2019). Heart failure is typically characterized by the heart’s incapacity to pump blood effectively, resulting in symptoms including exhaustion, breathlessness, and fluid retention. It is imperative to note that heart failure patients are frequently readmitted to hospitals for a plethora of reasons, such as the difficulty of managing the condition, the requirement for rigorous adherence to treatment plans, dietary limitations, and frequent follow-up.
In the same vein, elderly patients with heart failure are mostly observed to have concomitant chronic diseases: myocardial infarction, hypertension, atrial fibrillation, peripheral vascular disease and valvular disease, coronary artery disease, and kidney failure ( Liu et al., 2022).The high hospital readmission rates are a result of these comorbidities, which not only make the illness worse but also make management and therapy more difficult.
Similarly, the prognosis of elderly patients with heart failure emphasizes the importance of the methods of prevention strategies, early detection, and treatment, which can prevent myocardial dysfunction, especially for people with a high risk of developing heart failure due to myocardial infarction, hypertension or diabetes( Milinkovic`, et al. 2019).
Most importantly, the rationale among this patient population that warrants hospital readmissions entails a decline in the medical condition; in this instance, It is indisputable that heart failure is a progressive condition and that individuals may have hospitalization-requiring exacerbations.
Ideally, non-adherence to therapy and medication plans as authorized by medical practitioners is critical since it can result in readmissions if the recommended treatment plan proves impossible to follow. Financial difficulties may cause patients to follow medical advice and therapies less frequently than recommended, which could negatively influence patient outcomes and increase the risk of hospitalization and readmission.
Pre-existing comorbidities, in this instance, the elderly Heart failure patients frequently have coexisting medical disorders that make it more difficult to manage their care and necessitate frequent readmissions to the hospital in an effort to reduce risks. Heart failure patients frequently have non-cardiovascular diseases, which may accelerate the development of heart disease and multiple organ dysfunction, inevitably increasing hospitalization rates.
At the same time, insufficient care after discharge, coupled with a lack of social support, could potentially culminate in hospital readmissions if the patient is neglected contrary to stipulations requiring round-the-clock patient monitoring.
Likewise, there is insufficient patient sensitization on self-care, and elderly patients battling heart failure are required to be informed regarding self-care. For instance, patients within this bracket are required to take additional diuretics aimed at reinforcing the efficacy of prescribed drugs. Moreover, limited access to healthcare and financial resources could be causative agents for frequent hospital readmissions.
Evidence-based therapies are essential to lower hospital readmissions in this cohort of high-risk patients.By providing patients with the information and tools they need to manage their conditions properly, these interventions hope to lower the risk of readmission. Enhanced discharge planning is one of these strategies: making sure patients are aware of their condition and that the discharge plan can avoid misunderstandings and non-adherence.
Post-discharge follow-up: This type of intervention involves keeping an eye on the patient’s condition and adherence to therapy through routine phone calls and follow-up sessions. Management of medications: Helping patients with medication adherence and reconciliation is part of this kind of evidence-based intervention that aims to avoid problems.
Patient education: The most important aspect of therapeutic intervention is educating people about their illness, aggravation symptoms, and when to get medical attention. Incorporating modern medical technology: This is ideally the most important evidence-based strategy for older patients suffering from heart failure. Modern medical technologies revolve around the use of remote monitoring and telehealth to monitor patients and ultimately improve patient outcomes.
Furthermore, home health services: This type of intervention basically entails providing support services at home, can aid in better managing the illnessfor patients in the crucial post-discharge phase, transition home care nurses, and maintaining continuity of care across inpatient and outpatient settings might be of additional assistance.
Medication Management Programs: These initiatives can help patients follow their prescribed regimens. In addition, follow-up appointments: Making follow-up appointments prior to release can guarantee continuity of care and reduce the likelihood of recurrent hospital readmissions, even though this intervention necessitates a significant financial investment. Clinical instability is another major risk. As a direct consequence of the nature of heart failure, patients may be discharged before reaching clinical stability or may see a sharp decrease after discharge.In order to avoid unnecessary readmissions, healthcare practitioners must optimize treatment regimens and take into account both cardiac and non-cardiac problems while admitting patients to the hospital.
In conclusion, in high-risk groups, heart failure is a significant reason for readmissions to hospitals. Readmission can occur for a variety of complicated reasons, many of which combine structural, social, and medical elements. Adopting thorough and scientifically supported strategies can dramatically lower the readmission risk.
This strategy necessitates collaboration across several healthcare providers and support systems to address heart failure patients’ complex requirements effectively. Healthcare practitioners can enhance patient outcomes and lessen the financial strain of readmissions on the healthcare system by concentrating on these evidence-based practices.
References
Milinkovic, I., Polovina, M., & Seferović, P. M. (2019). An age-old problem: heart failure treatment in elderly. European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, 26(13), 1396-1398.
Hollenberg, S. M., Warner Stevenson, L., Ahmad, T., Amin, V. J., Bozkurt, B., Butler, J., & Storrow, A. B. (2019). 2019 ACC expert consensus decision pathway on risk assessment, management, and clinical trajectory of patients hospitalized with heart failure: a report of the American College of Cardiology Solution Set Oversight Committee. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 74(15), 1966-2011.
Liu, E., & Lampert, B. C. (2022). Heart failure in older adults: Medical management and advanced therapies. Geriatrics, 7(2), 36.
write