Publication date: Oct 31, 2024
The Heart Failure Post-Acute Care [HF-PAC] program is a specialized healthcare program aimed at providing comprehensive care and support for patients with heart failure [HF] as they transition from acute hospital settings to home. But the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 [COVID-19] pandemic on the HF-PAC program remains unknown. Furthermore, the effects of the comprehensive COVID-19 vaccination program on these patients with HF-PAC warrants further investigation. A total of 265 patients with acute decompensated HF were admitted to the hospital between May 2020 and October 2022. Of these, 159 patients underwent planned HF-PAC follow-up for 6 months, followed by scheduled follow-up visits every 3 months and unscheduled telephone randomized visits for at least another 6 months. The program completion rate was nearly 92%. COVID-19 significantly impacted patients with HF-PAC, leading to an increased mortality [13. 3%] compared to before the pandemic [6. 5%]. In our patient cohort, 83% had received at least 1 dose of vaccine and 61% had received > 3 doses. Of these patients with HF-PAC, 34% contracted COVID-19 infection post discharge, and 8. 8% died owing to the infection. Of the mortality group, 42. 9% patients were not vaccinated, and 28. 6% received 1 vaccine dose, and their vaccination rate was lower than in the survival group [p = 0. 01]. The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on patients enrolled in the HF-PAC program; receiving more than 3 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine was associated with a significant reduction in mortality rates among these patients.
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Concepts | Keywords |
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Basel | COVID-19 |
Coronavirus | heart failure |
Healthcare | post-acute care |
October | vaccine |
Pandemic |