Awareness and perception of heart failure among European cardiologists, internists, geriatricians, and primary care physicians
Population
6,887 randomly selected physicians across 9 European countries.
Design
Cross-sectional
Authors
Discussion
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Member takes
Implication
Reported HF guideline adherence differs by specialty; hypothesis-generating for education programs targeting non-cardiologists.
Key Points
- To assess awareness and adherence to heart failure management guidelines among European cardiologists, internists, geriatricians, and primary care physicians.
- Cross-sectional survey using a 32-item questionnaire assessing diagnosis and treatment of heart failure with left ventricular ejection fraction <40%.
- Conducted across France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, and the UK among randomly selected cardiologists (N=2,041), internists/geriatricians (N=1,881), and primary care physicians (N=2,965).
- Routine diagnostic echocardiography was used by 92% of cardiologists and 71% of internists/geriatricians (P < 0.0001), whereas 75% of primary care physicians relied on signs and symptoms.
- Cardiologists prescribed ACE-inhibitors to >90% of patients significantly more often than internists/geriatricians (82% vs. 64%, P < 0.0001), while only 47% of primary care physicians routinely prescribed them.
- Beta-blocker prescription for >50% of patients was reported by 73% of cardiologists versus 39% of internists/geriatricians (P < 0.0001), while only 5% of primary care physicians always prescribed them.
Structured PICO
P
Population
6,887 randomly selected physicians (2,041 cardiologists, 1,881 internists and geriatricians, and 2,965 primary care physicians) across 9 European countries.
I
Intervention
32-item questionnaire about the diagnosis and treatment of heart failure (left ventricular ejection fraction <40%).
O
Outcome
Self-reported practices regarding the diagnosis and treatment of heart failure.
There is a significant gap in adherence to heart failure guidelines among internists, geriatricians, and primary care physicians compared to cardiologists, highlighting a critical need for targeted education.
Cite This Study
Remme et al. (2008) studied this question.