Differential Patterns and Outcomes of 20.6 Million Cardiovascular Emergency Department Encounters for Men and Women in the United States

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on hospital admission rates for arterial hypertension and coronary heart disease: a German database study

Background

During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic it was speculated that the virus might be associated with a persistent increase of cardiovascular risk. The present study compares pre- and post-pandemic hospital admission rates for hypertension and coronary artery disease.

Methods

Systematic multicentric retrospective cohort analysis of 57.795 hospital admissions in an urban region in Germany during two different periods (pre-pandemic 01-06/2019 vs. post-pandemic era 01-06/2023). Information on hospital admissions for arterial hypertension, chronic coronary syndrome, unstable angina pectoris and acute myocardial infarction were extracted from the hospitals data systems. Additionally, six comorbidities and performed coronary interventions were monitored.

Results

Compared to the pre-pandemic era, there was no increase in hospitalizations for arterial hypertension (516 vs. 483, -6.8%, p = 0.07) or myocardial infarction (487 vs. 349, -23.8%, p < 0.001), but the total number of patient admissions with chest pain as the presenting symptom increased (chronic coronary syndrome: 759 vs. 943, +24.2%, p < 0.001; unstable angina pectoris: 270 vs. 451, +67.0%, p < 0.001). At the same time, the number of performed coronary angiographies increased, but less patients underwent percutaneous interventions. Patients admitted with chest pain in the post-pandemic era were in general healthier with less comorbidities.

Conclusion

The present multicenter cohort study found no evidence for an increase in hospitalizations for arterial hypertension or coronary artery disease after the end of the pandemic. However, further studies with larger sample sizes are needed to confirm our results.

Slow on the Draw-ED Management of Elevated BP in Older Adults

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

The purpose of this study is to review data surrounding the emergency department management of elevated blood pressure in older adults, including the management of hypertensive crisis and outpatient management of markedly elevated blood pressure.

RECENT FINDINGS

Acute lowering of blood pressure in older adults with markedly elevated blood pressure may lead to serious complications without improvements in hospital length of stay, return visits, or mortality. Older adults presenting with elevated blood pressures without evidence of end-organ damage should be referred for outpatient management of their blood pressure. Treatment of hypertensive emergency should follow standard guidelines with additional considerations for aging physiology. Acute lowering of elevated blood pressure in older adults without evidence of end-organ damage has the potential for harm. If the emergency physician opts to acutely treat, they should consider the increased risk of side effects in older adults and avoid Beers list medications including short-acting nifedipine and clonidine.

2024 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics: A Report of US and Global Data From the American Heart Association

BACKGROUND

The American Heart Association (AHA), in conjunction with the National Institutes of Health, annually reports the most up-to-date statistics related to heart disease, stroke, and cardiovascular risk factors, including core health behaviors (smoking, physical activity, nutrition, sleep, and obesity) and health factors (cholesterol, blood pressure, glucose control, and metabolic syndrome) that contribute to cardiovascular health. The AHA Heart Disease and Stroke Statistical Update presents the latest data on a range of major clinical heart and circulatory disease conditions (including stroke, brain health, complications of pregnancy, kidney disease, congenital heart disease, rhythm disorders, sudden cardiac arrest, subclinical atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, cardiomyopathy, heart failure, valvular disease, venous thromboembolism, and peripheral artery disease) and the associated outcomes (including quality of care, procedures, and economic costs).

METHODS

The AHA, through its Epidemiology and Prevention Statistics Committee, continuously monitors and evaluates sources of data on heart disease and stroke in the United States and globally to provide the most current information available in the annual Statistical Update with review of published literature through the year before writing. The 2024 AHA Statistical Update is the product of a full year's worth of effort in 2023 by dedicated volunteer clinicians and scientists, committed government professionals, and AHA staff members. The AHA strives to further understand and help heal health problems inflicted by structural racism, a public health crisis that can significantly damage physical and mental health and perpetuate disparities in access to health care, education, income, housing, and several other factors vital to healthy lives. This year's edition includes additional global data, as well as data on the monitoring and benefits of cardiovascular health in the population, with an enhanced focus on health equity across several key domains.

RESULTS

Each of the chapters in the Statistical Update focuses on a different topic related to heart disease and stroke statistics.

CONCLUSIONS

The Statistical Update represents a critical resource for the lay public, policymakers, media professionals, clinicians, health care administrators, researchers, health advocates, and others seeking the best available data on these factors and conditions.

The Development of a Chest-Pain Protocol for Women Presenting to the Emergency Department

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in women worldwide, and of premature death in women in Canada. Despite improvements in cardiovascular care over the past 15-20 years, acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and CVD mortality continue to increase among women in Canada. Chest pain is a common symptom leading to emergency department visits for both men and women. However, women with ACS experience worse outcomes. compared with those of men, due to misdiagnosis or lack of diagnosis resulting in delayed care and underuse of guideline-directed medical therapies. CVD mortality rates are highest in Indigenous and racialized women and those with a disproportionately high number of adverse social determinants of health. CVD remains underrecognized, underdiagnosed, undertreated, and underresearched in women. Moreover, a lack of awareness of unique symptoms, clinical presentations, and sex-and-gender specific CVD risk factors, by healthcare professionals, leads to outcome disparities. In response to this knowledge gap, in acute recognition and management of chest-pain syndromes in women, the Canadian Women's Heart Health Alliance performed a needs assessment and review of CVD risk factors and ACS pathophysiology, through a sex and gender lens, and then developed a unique chest-pain assessment protocol utilizing modified dynamic programming algorithmic methodology. The resulting algorithmic protocol is presented. The output is intended as a quick reference algorithm that could be posted in emergency departments and other acute-care settings. Next steps include protocol implementation evaluation and impact assessment on CVD outcomes in women.

Home Blood Pressure Telemonitoring Technology for Patients With Asymptomatic Elevated Blood Pressure Discharged From the Emergency Department: Pilot Study

BACKGROUND

Hypertension affects 1 in 5 Canadians and is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally. Hypertension control is declining due to multiple factors including lack of access to primary care. Consequently, patients with hypertension frequently visit the emergency department (ED) due to high blood pressure (BP). Telehealth for Emergency-Community Continuity of Care Connectivity via Home-Telemonitoring Blood Pressure is a pilot project that implements and evaluates a comprehensive home blood pressure telemonitoring (HBPT) and physician case management protocol designed as a postdischarge management strategy to support patients with asymptomatic elevated BP as they transition from the ED to home.

OBJECTIVE

Our objective was to conduct a feasibility study of an HBPT program for patients with asymptomatic elevated BP discharged from the ED.

METHODS

Patients discharged from an urban, tertiary care hospital ED with asymptomatic elevated BP were recruited in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and provided with HBPT technology for 3 months of monitoring post discharge and referred to specialist hypertension clinics. Participants monitored their BP twice in the morning and evenings and tele-transmitted readings via Bluetooth Sensor each day using an app. A monitoring clinician received these data and monitored the patient's condition daily and adjusted antihypertensive medications. Feasibility outcomes included eligibility, recruitment, adherence to monitoring, and retention rates. Secondary outcomes included proportion of those who were defined as having hypertension post-ED visits, changes in mean BP, overall BP control, medication adherence, changes to antihypertensive medications, quality of life, and end user experience at 3 months.

RESULTS

A total of 46 multiethnic patients (mean age 63, SD 17 years, 69%, n=32 women) found to have severe hypertension (mean 191, SD 23/mean 100, SD 14 mm Hg) in the ED were recruited, initiated on HBPT with hypertension specialist physician referral and followed up for 3 months. Eligibility and recruitment rates were 40% (56/139) and 88% (49/56), respectively. The proportion of participants that completed ≥80% of home BP measurements at 1 and 3 months were 67% (31/46) and 41% (19/46), respectively. The proportion of individuals who achieved home systolic BP and diastolic BP control at 3 months was 71.4% (30/42) and 85.7% (36/42) respectively. Mean home systolic and diastolic BP improved by -13/-5 mm Hg after initiation of HBPT to the end of the study. Patients were prescribed 1 additional antihypertensive medication. No differences in medication adherence from enrollment to 3 months were noted. Most patients (76%, 25/33) were highly satisfied with the HBPT program and 76% (25/33) found digital health tools easy to use.

CONCLUSIONS

HBPT intervention is a feasible postdischarge management strategy and can be beneficial in supporting patients with asymptomatic elevated BP from the ED. A randomized trial is underway to evaluate the efficacy of this intervention on BP control.

Sex-Related Differences in Patient Characteristics, Risk Factors, and Symptomatology in Older Adults with Pulmonary Embolism: Findings from the SERIOUS-PE Study

Sex-specific factors are implicated in pulmonary embolism (PE) presentation in young patients, as indicated by increased risk in pregnancy. Whether sex differences exist in PE presentation, comorbidities, and symptomatology in older adults, the age group in which most PEs occur, remains unknown. We identified older adults (aged ≥65 years) with PE in a large international PE registry replete with information about relevant clinical characteristics (RIETE registry, 2001-2021). To provide national data from the United States, we assessed sex differences in clinical characteristics and risk factors of Medicare beneficiaries with PE (2001-2019). The majority of older adults with PE in RIETE (19,294/33,462, 57.7%) and in the Medicare database (551,492/948,823, 58.7%) were women. Compared with men, women with PE less frequently had atherosclerotic diseases, lung disease, cancer, or unprovoked PE, but more frequently had varicose veins, depression, prolonged immobility, or history of hormonal therapy (p < 0.001 for all). Women less often presented with chest pain (37.3 vs. 40.6%) or hemoptysis (2.4 vs. 5.6%) but more often with dyspnea (84.6 vs. 80.9%) (p < 0.001 for all). Measures of clot burden, PE risk stratification, and use of imaging modalities were comparable between women and men. PE is more common in elderly women than in men. Cancer and cardiovascular disease are more common in men, whereas transient provoking factors including trauma, immobility, or hormone therapy are more common in elderly women with PE. Whether such differences correlate with disparities in treatment or differences in short- or long-term clinical outcomes warrants further investigation.

Strategies to mitigate emergency department crowding and its impact on cardiovascular patients

Emergency department (ED) crowding is a worsening global problem caused by hospital capacity and other health system challenges. While patients across a broad spectrum of illnesses may be affected by crowding in the ED, patients with cardiovascular emergencies-such as acute coronary syndrome, malignant arrhythmias, pulmonary embolism, acute aortic syndrome, and cardiac tamponade-are particularly vulnerable. Because of crowding, patients with dangerous and time-sensitive conditions may either avoid the ED due to anticipation of extended waits, leave before their treatment is completed, or experience delays in receiving care. In this educational paper, we present the underlying causes of crowding and its impact on common cardiovascular emergencies using the input-throughput-output process framework for patient flow. In addition, we review current solutions and potential innovations to mitigate the negative effect of ED crowding on patient outcomes.

Development and External Validation of the International Early Warning Score for Improved Age- and Sex-Adjusted In-Hospital Mortality Prediction in the Emergency Department

OBJECTIVES

Early Warning Scores (EWSs) have a great potential to assist clinical decision-making in the emergency department (ED). However, many EWS contain methodological weaknesses in development and validation and have poor predictive performance in older patients. The aim of this study was to develop and externally validate an International Early Warning Score (IEWS) based on a recalibrated National Early warning Score (NEWS) model including age and sex and evaluate its performance independently at arrival to the ED in three age categories (18-65, 66-80, > 80 yr).

DESIGN

International multicenter cohort study.

SETTING

Data was used from three Dutch EDs. External validation was performed in two EDs in Denmark.

PATIENTS

All consecutive ED patients greater than or equal to 18 years in the Netherlands Emergency department Evaluation Database (NEED) with at least two registered vital signs were included, resulting in 95,553 patients. For external validation, 14,809 patients were included from a Danish Multicenter Cohort (DMC).

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

Model performance to predict in-hospital mortality was evaluated by discrimination, calibration curves and summary statistics, reclassification, and clinical usefulness by decision curve analysis. In-hospital mortality rate was 2.4% ( n = 2,314) in the NEED and 2.5% ( n = 365) in the DMC. Overall, the IEWS performed significantly better than NEWS with an area under the receiving operating characteristic of 0.89 (95% CIs, 0.89-0.90) versus 0.82 (0.82-0.83) in the NEED and 0.87 (0.85-0.88) versus 0.82 (0.80-0.84) at external validation. Calibration for NEWS predictions underestimated risk in older patients and overestimated risk in the youngest, while calibration improved for IEWS with a substantial reclassification of patients from low to high risk and a standardized net benefit of 5-15% in the relevant risk range for all age categories.

CONCLUSIONS

The IEWS substantially improves in-hospital mortality prediction for all ED patients greater than or equal to18 years.

Effect of triage training on nurses' practice and triage outcomes of patients with acute coronary syndrome

BACKGROUND

Accurate assessment and prompt management of patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is a complex process for emergency department (ED) nurses and has variable clinical outcomes. The aim of the present study was to determine the effectiveness of an educational intervention on nurses' practice during the triage of patients with ACS and the triage outcomes in this group of patients.

METHODS

In this quasi-experimental study, a pretest-posttest group of 24 nurses were included by convenience sampling method and 960 patients with ACS were selected by sequential sampling during the pre-intervention (n = 480) and post-intervention (n = 480) phases. A case-based learning (CBL) intervention was performed for nurses for one month considering the role of the triage nurse according to the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the American Heart Association (AHA) recommendations as well as the factors affecting the proper identification and management of patients with ACS. During patient triage in the pre- and post-intervention phases, the "Triage Nurse Practice Checklist" and the "Medical Electronic Records" were used to assess nurses' practice and the triage outcomes in patients, respectively.

RESULTS

The overall mean score of the triage nurses' practice and its subscales, including Primary monitoring and assessment, cardiovascular risk factors assessment, evaluation of coronary heart disease (CHD) symptoms, chest pain management, and adherence to the ACC/AHA practice guidelines were significantly improved in the post-intervention phase compared with the pre-intervention phase (p < 0.001). There was no significant difference between the triage outcomes, including in-hospital mortality within 24 hours, death in ED, hospitalization in other wards, and discharge from ED in the pre and post-intervention phases (P = 0.723).

CONCLUSION

The development of a cardiac triage-specific educational program could improve the performance of nurses in the evaluation and management of patients with ACS, but had no effect on the triage outcomes in this group of patients. We recommend a quality improvement project or a critical outcomes-based triage system to assess ACS patients' care needs in the ED.

Sex-related cardiovascular prognosis in patients with hypertensive emergencies: a 12-month study

Current evidence on the prognosis of patients with a hypertensive crisis and predisposing factors is limited. We registered the clinical phenotype of patients with HC admitted to the emergency department, while those with a hypertensive emergency (HE) were hospitalized. One-year outcomes, i.e., composite of death or cardiovascular hospitalizations, were determined in patients with HE after hospital discharge. Out of 38,589 patients assessed in the emergency department, 256 hypertensive urgencies and 97 HE was registered. After stratification of the HE by sex, 48 men and 46 women completed the one-year follow-up. Men had more events than women (27 vs. 13, Ηazard Ratio 2.2, 95% Confidence Interval 1.03-4.7, p = 0.042) after adjustment for age, cardiovascular or chronic kidney disease, and diabetes mellitus. Our study raises the hypothesis that the male sex is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular outcomes in HE patients. CV Cardiovascular, BP blood pressure. The diagram presents the groups of comparison, men versus women in hypertensive emergencies that completed the 1-year follow-up for outcomes, in terms of hospitalizations or deaths.