A combination of care transition intervention and remote patient monitoring may not reduce 180 day all-cause readmission after heart failure (HF) hospitalization, according to results from the BEAT-HF study presented Nov. 8 during AHA 2015 in Orlando.

The study looked at 1,437 individuals aged 50 or older who were hospitalized and receiving care for decompensated HF. Patients were randomized to receive a care transition intervention that included pre-discharge HF education and post-discharge telephone nurse coaching combined with home telemonitoring of weight, blood pressure, heart rate and symptoms, or usual care.

Results showed that the care transition intervention did not reduce 180 day all-cause readmission, hospitalizations in the first 30 days, or 180 day mortality; but mortality in the first 30 days was "reduced significantly in prespecified multivariable adjusted analyses."

The investigators conclude that, "individuals with higher adherence may experience fewer readmissions and deaths than those with lower levels of adherence," and add that moving forward, "further studies specifically designed to evaluate effects of different levels of adherence are needed to confirm these findings as these were from post-hoc analyses."

Keywords: AHA Annual Scientific Sessions, Blood Pressure, Heart Failure, Heart Rate, Hospitalization, Patient Readmission

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