Heart Failure Transitional Care and Ambulatory Monitoring.

Abstract

Chronic heart failure is characterized by periods of stability punctuated by clinical decline often requiring hospitalization. Following hospitalization, patients remain at an increased risk of morbidity and mortality, often requiring rehospitalization due to recurrent deterioration. Transitional care interventions aim to improve the movement from the inpatient to ambulatory setting. Promising interventions, such as patient education, novel uses of loop diuretics, and invasive hemodynamic monitoring, have been developed over the past 20 years all with varying degrees of success.