American Heart Association Launches IMPLEMENT-EF Initiative to Address Critical Gaps in Heart Failure Care
TL;DR
The American Heart Association's IMPLEMENT-EF initiative offers hospitals a competitive edge by developing superior care models for 75% of heart failure cases.
The three-year IMPLEMENT-EF initiative uses real-world data to map patient journey gaps and define evidence-based care models for HFpEF and HFmrEF treatment.
This initiative will improve outcomes for millions with heart failure by scaling effective care models nationwide through multidisciplinary team collaboration and education.
HFpEF and HFmrEF account for 75% of heart failure cases yet have limited treatment evidence, making this new initiative crucial for advancing care.
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The American Heart Association is launching a new initiative to improve in-hospital care for people with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and heart failure with mildly reduced ejection fraction (HFmrEF). These two conditions collectively account for up to 75% of all heart failure cases, yet clinical research and treatment evidence for HFpEF and HFmrEF remains substantially limited compared to other types of heart failure.
The IMPLEMENT-EF quality improvement initiative will address these challenges by mapping gaps in the patient journey to identify unmet needs and define ideal care models. Heart failure occurs when the percentage of blood that leaves the left ventricle with each heartbeat, measured by ejection fraction (EF), is abnormal. A normal EF ranges between 55% and 70%, while HFpEF means an individual has heart failure but EF remains 50% or higher, and HFmrEF means EF is reduced to 41%-49%.
This three-year initiative, supported by Bayer, will engage a network of multidisciplinary care teams including pharmacists to ensure patients receive and take appropriate medications, raise provider awareness of best care practices, and improve adherence to scientific evidence-based therapies using insights from Get With The Guidelines® - Heart Failure data. Findings will inform the American Heart Association's broader approach to patient care and help scale effective, replicable models nationwide.
To enhance clinical understanding and encourage best practices, the initiative will include professional educational offerings such as a podcast series, eLearning module, and live presentations. The Association will convene a Science Advisory Panel to guide development of these educational materials. Mariell Jessup, M.D., FAHA, chief science and medical officer of the American Heart Association, emphasized that improving care for these heart failure patients requires more than just clinical knowledge, demanding a coordinated, team-based approach.
The Association has recruited 40 hospitals to participate in the inaugural program, where teams will collaborate with other facilities and nationally recognized experts, access exclusive educational resources, and share successful quality improvement models. Robert Perkins, M.D., M.P.H., FACP, vice president of U.S. medical affairs cardiovascular and renal at Bayer, stated their commitment to advancing science that transforms patient care, particularly in areas like HFpEF and HFmrEF where evidence and treatment gaps persist.
This initiative represents a significant step toward addressing the substantial healthcare burden posed by these common yet under-researched forms of heart failure, potentially improving outcomes for millions of patients through standardized, evidence-based care approaches and multidisciplinary collaboration.
Curated from NewMediaWire
