Heart Failure Care
Healthcare with heart, for your heart
Heart failure is a weakening of the heart’s pumping power. With heart failure, your body doesn’t get enough oxygen and nutrients to meet its needs. Your heart tries to pump more blood, but the muscle walls become weaker over time.
Symptoms of heart failure may include:
- Shortness of breath from fluid in the lungs
- Swelling (such as in legs, ankles or abdomen)
- Dizziness
- Fatigue
- Weakness
- Cold or clammy skin
- A rapid or irregular heartbeat
How is East Jefferson General Hospital performing in heart failure care?
The individual measures below are how hospitals throughout the United States are measured. See below how East Jefferson General Hospital compares nationally and in Louisiana in each individual measure.
Percent of heart failure patients given discharge instructions
Description of measure
The staff at the hospital should provide you with information to help you manage your heart failure symptoms when you are discharged.
Why is this important?
Heart failure is a chronic condition. It results in symptoms such as shortness of breath, dizziness, and fatigue. Before you leave the hospital, the staff at the hospital should provide you with information to help you manage the symptoms after you get home. The information should include your:
- Activity level (what you can and can't do)
- Diet (what you should and shouldn't eat or drink)
- Medications
- Follow-up appointment
- Watching your daily weight
- What to do if your symptoms get worse
Percent of heart failure patients given an evaluation of left ventricular systolic (LVS) function
Description of measure
An evaluation of the LVS function checks how the left chamber of the heart is pumping.
Why is this important?
The proper treatment for heart failure depends on what area of your heart is affected. An important test is to check how your heart is pumping, called an "evaluation of the left ventricular systolic function." It can tell your health care provider whether the left side of your heart is pumping properly. Other ways to check on how your heart is pumping include:
- Your medical history
- A physical examination
- Listening to your heart sounds
- Other tests as ordered by a physician (like an ECG (electrocardiogram), chest x-ray, blood work, and an echocardiogram)
Percent of heart failure patients given ACE inhibitor or ARB for left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD)
Description of measure
ACE (angiotensin converting enzyme) inhibitors and ARBs (angiotensin receptor blockers) are medicines used to treat heart attacks, heart failure, or a decreased function of the heart.
Why is this important?
ACE (angiotensin converting enzyme) inhibitors and ARBs (angiotensin receptor blockers) are medicines used to treat patients with heart failure and are particularly beneficial in those patients with heart failure and decreased function of the left side of the heart. Early treatment with ACE inhibitors and ARBs in patients who have heart failure symptoms or decreased heart function after a heart attack can also reduce their risk of death from future heart attacks. ACE inhibitors and ARBs work by limiting the effects of a hormone that narrows blood vessels, and may thus lower blood pressure and reduce the work the heart has to perform. Since the ways in which these two kinds of drugs work are different, your doctor will decide which drug is most appropriate for you. If you have a heart attack and/or heart failure, you should get a prescription for ACE inhibitors or ARBs if you have decreased heart function before you leave the hospital.
All descriptions and data sources are reported from Hospital Compare.
Data reported are based on discharges from Fourth Quarter 2012 through Third Quarter 2013.