%0 Journal Article
%T Management of chronic heart failure: Role of home echocardiography in monitoring care programs
%A Silvia Soreca
%A Sergio Aprile
%A Andrea Cardone
%A Giovanni Carella
%J World Journal of Cardiology
%D 2012
%I Baishideng Publishing Group Co. Limited
%R 10.4330/wjc.v4.i3.72
%X AIM: To identify a possible role of home echocardiography for monitoring chronic heart failure (CHF) patients. METHODS: We prospectively investigated 118 patients hospitalized during the last year for CHF who could not easily reach the pertaining District Healthcare Center. The patients were followed up with 2 home management programs: one including clinical and electrocardiographic evaluations and also periodic home echocardiographic examinations (group A), the other including clinical and electrocardiographic evaluations only (group B). RESULTS: At the end of the 18-mo follow-up no signi-ficant differences were observed between the 2 groups as regards the primary endpoint: rehospitalization occurred in 4 patients of the group A and in 6 patients of the group B; major cardiovascular events occurred in 2 and in 3 patients, respectively. No significant differences were observed with respect to the secondary endpoints: one vascular event appeared in both the groups, 3 cardiovascular deaths occurred in group A and 2 in group B. No significant differences were observed between the 2 groups as regards the composite endpoint of death plus hospitalization. CONCLUSION: Home echocardiography for monitoring of CHF patients does not improve the cardiovascular endpoints. In our CHF patients, a low incidence of vascular events was observed.
%K Echocardiography
%K Chronic heart failure
%K Home monitoring
%K Care programs
%K Cardiovascular events
%U http://www.wjgnet.com/1949-8462/full/v4/i3/72.htm