• Hung-Yu Chang, Chun-Chieh Wang, Jeng Wei, Chong-Yi Chang, Yi-Cheng Chuang, Chien-Long Huang, Eric Chong, Jiunn-Lee Lin, Guang-Yuan Mar, Kuei-Chuan Chan, Jen-Yuan Kuo, Ji-Hung Wang, Zhih-Cherng Chen, Wei-Kung Tseng, Wen-Jin Cherng, and Wei-Hsian Yin.
• Heart Center, Cheng Hsin General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC; Faculty of Medicine, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
• J Chin Med Assoc. 2017 Dec 1; 80 (12): 750-757.

BackgroundHeart failure (HF) is a global health problem. Guidelines for the management of HF have been established in Western countries and in Taiwan. However, data from the Taiwan Society of Cardiology-Heart Failure with reduced Ejection Fraction (TSOC-HFrEF) registry showed suboptimal prescription of guideline-recommended medications. We aimed to analyze the reason of non-prescription and clinical outcomes as a result of under-prescription of medications.MethodsA total of 1509 patients hospitalized for acute HFrEF were recruited in 21 hospitals in Taiwan by the end of October 2014. Prescribed guideline-recommended medications and other relevant clinical parameters were collected and analyzed at discharge and 1 year after index hospitalization.ResultsAt discharge, 62% of patients were prescribed with either angiotensin-converting enzyme-inhibitors (ACEI) or angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB); 60% were prescribed with beta-blockers and 49% were prescribed with mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (MRA). The proportions of patients at ≥50% of the target dose for ACEI/ARB, beta-blockers and MRA were 24.4%, 20.6%, 86.2%, respectively. At 1-year follow-up, dosages of ACEI/ARB and MRA were up-titrated in about one-fourth patients, and dosages of beta-blocker were up-titrated in about 40% patients. One-year mortality rate was lowest in patients who received at least 2 classes of guideline-recommended medications with ≥50% of the target dose, and highest in those who received 0 or 1 class of medications.ConclusionThe TSOC-HFrEF registry demonstrated the under-prescription of guideline-recommended medications and reluctance of physicians to up-titrate medications to target dose. Action plan needs be formulated in order to improve physician's adherence to HF guidelines.Copyright © 2017 the Chinese Medical Association. Published by Elsevier Taiwan LLC. All rights reserved.

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