Heart Failure in Australia

Heart failure occurs when the heart begins to function less effectively in pumping blood around the body. It can occur suddenly, although it usually develops slowly as the heart gradually becomes weaker. Heart failure can result from a variety of diseases and conditions that impair or overload the heart. These include heart attack, high blood pressure, damaged heart valves or cardiomyopathy.

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Heart Failure Workshops

The ACvA convened a series of national meetings and workshops, facilitated by Professors Peter Macdonald and Patricia Davidson to identify research priorities across the research pipeline that, if addressed, have the potential to improve HF management, enhance patient outcomes, and reduce hospital readmission and health system pressures. From these workshops heart failure and frailty was identified as a key research priority and several follow-on workshops were held to discuss how frailty in heart failure patients could be addressed to improve health outcomes and quality of life.  

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Heart Failure and Frailty Priority Area

Frailty and heart failure frequently coexist, exacerbating each other's impact and resulting in poorer outcomes. Many frail heart failure patients do not receive guideline-recommended treatments due to perceived risks, despite frailty being largely reversible through exercise, diet, social support systems, and appropriate medication.

Frailty is not routinely assessed in clinical practice despite being a strong predictor of poor health outcomes. There is currently no consensus on when or how to measure frailty, even though assessment is essential for identifying individuals who may benefit from interventions. Proven programs that prepare high-risk, frail patients before heart surgery are effective (prehabilitation) but not widely used. There's an urgent need for standardised approaches in this important area.