Use of Palliative Care on the Rise in Veterans With Severe HF
The use of palliative care in veterans with severe heart failure (HF) doubled over the course of six years, according to a research letter published July 6 in JAMA Cardiology. The study, conducted from 2007 to 2013, looked at 4,474 patients with severe HF. Overall, 51.2 percent of HF patients died within one year of hospitalization. Those who died were more likely to have been seen by palliative care; those seen by palliative care had a one-year mortality of 72.8 percent. Among those who were not seen by palliative care, the mortality rate was 49.5 percent. Read more on ACC.org.