Studies
Heart conditions

Telecardiology for patients with chronic heart failure: the ‘SHL’ experience in Israel

Partners/ Authors Arie Roth, Irena Kajiloti, Ilana Elkayam, Judith Sander, Mayera Kehati, Michal Golovner
Start & end date 2004
Focus Patients with chronic heart failure characteristically have multiple hospital admissions for symptom control, deleteriously affecting their quality of life and imposing a burden on national healthcare costs. We assessed the effect of a novel transtelephonic monitoring and follow-up program on the admission rate and length of hospital stay as well as changes in their subjectively rated quality of life of patients with chronic heart failure.
Outcome The study cohort included 118 patients, mean age 75 years (range 49-89 years), 65% males, a II-IV class functional capacity and a 25% (range 10-39%) mean ejection fraction. There was a 66% reduction in the total hospitalization days (from 1623 in the year preceding study entry to 558 during the study period, p<0.0001). Although only 38/118 patients were hospitalized, most participants reported a significant subjective improvement in their quality of life.
Website https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15336806/