Contrary to popular belief, this pathology does not only affect the oldest among us.
“Heart failure can manifest itself at different periods of life, explains Professor Roussoulières. It can develop in a young child born with a heart problem, or in an older person after a myocardial infarction. But we also see patients aged 30, 40 or 50. And then there are hereditary pathologies such as cardiomyopathy, dilated or hypertrophic, which can appear around the age of 20-30.“.
Heart failure is defined by difficulty of the heart to ensure sufficient blood flow to maintain the proper functioning of the organs. There are different types of heart failure: HF with reduced ejection fraction, when the heart pump is failing, HF with preserved ejection fraction, when the relaxation of the heart is disturbed. For each type of IC there are well-defined treatments that must be used. When drug treatments are not enough, the patient may have a device such as cardiac resynchronization or a defibrillator implanted.
A long-awaited refund
“M Despite the arrival of more effective drugs which improve survival and quality of life by reducing hospitalizations, the care of patients suffering from heart failure remains suboptimal in Belgium, with patients not receiving the appropriate treatment on time. which increases the risk of hospitalization et /or death“, alerts Professor Roussoulières who is also the president of the Belgian Working Group on Heart Failure (BWGHF).
For several years, this working group which promotes the quality of HF care has pleaded, in vain, for the reimbursement of a marker, NT-proBNP, for the screening of HF by a simple test. of blood (cost between 20 and 25€), This marker makes it possible to detect IC, which must be confirmed by other examinations such as echocardiogram. “This early detection makes it possible to implement appropriate treatment very quickly and thus avoid hospitalization of the patient. It is incomprehensible that our reimbursement request is not successful when we know that hospitalizations linked to heart failure represent a large part of healthcare expenses!“, protests the cardiologist.
Recognition of nursing staff
Another demand of the BWGHF, the recognition of nurses trained in heart failure who have a vital role in specialized centers such as the Pulmonary Hypertension and Heart Failure Clinic at the HUB which offers multidisciplinary support for IC patients, both in hospital and remotely via remote monitoring. The latter, which makes it possible to avoid the rehospitalization of the most unstable patients, should soon be reimbursed.
“This non-recognition, despite a specialized university course available in French and Dutch, is a hindrance and does not allow optimal patient care, avoiding rehospitalizations which are costly for Inami…“, regrets Professor Roussoulières.
