Expert Recommendations to Bridge Gaps in Heart Failure Patient Support in the Middle East and Africa Region

OpenAlex İngilizce

Heart failure (HF) remains a serious health and socioeconomic problem in the Middle East and Africa (MEA).The age-standardized prevalence rate for HF in the MEA region is higher compared to countries in Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Southeast Asia.Also cardiovascular-related deaths remain high compared to their global counterparts.Moreover, in MEA, 66% of HF readmissions are elicited by potentially preventable factors, including delay in seeking medical attention, nonadherence to HF medication, suboptimal discharge planning, inadequate follow-up, and poor social support.Patient support in the form of activation, counseling, and caregiver education has been shown to improve outcomes in patients with HF.A multidisciplinary meeting with experts from different countries across the MEA region was convened to identify the current gaps and unmet needs for patient support for HF in the region.The panel provided insights into the realworld challenges in HF patient support and contributed strategic recommendations for optimizing HF care.Keywords: Heart failure, HF patient support, Middle East and Africa Similar to developed countries (North America, Latin America, Australia, and Japan) in MEA, particularly in the Middle East, HF accounts for up to 1.31% of all hospitalizations.5,8 Also, recurrent admissions for HF are common in MEA, with nearly 1 in 5 readmitted within 3 months and 2 in 5 within 12 months following admission for acute HF.In Gulf countries (2012), in-hospital mortality was 6.3%, doubled at 3 months following discharge, and reached 20.2% at 1 year following discharge.2 The Gulf CARE study reported hospital readmission rates of 18% and 40% at 3 and 12 months, respectively, 2 highlighting an urgent need to address this