Background: Evidence-based performance measures for heart failure are increasingly being used to stimulate quality improvement efforts.
Methods and results: A literature search was performed using MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Review, and a citation review. Research studies that assessed the association between the American College of Cardiology (ACC)/American Heart Association (AHA) heart failure performance measures from the inpatient setting and patient outcomes were examined. Studies were restricted to those conducted within the United States from 2001 until the present and included at least 1 of the ACC/AHA performance measures for chronic heart failure and a clinical outcome as an endpoint. Eleven original studies and 1 literature review met the study inclusion criteria. Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor/angiotensin receptor blocker and beta-blocker use at discharge had the strongest association with improved patient outcomes, whereas discharge instructions had a weaker but positive effect.
Conclusions: The findings from this systematic review suggest that an increase in compliance with the heart failure performance measures leads to a consistent positive impact on patient outcomes although the strength, magnitude, and significance of this effect is variable across the individual performance indicators. Further longitudinal studies and additional measure sets may yield deeper insights into the causal relationship between heart failure processes of care and clinical outcomes.