Thread by @ColumbiaSurgery

Heart failure deaths are increasing rapidly, and one key factor in the rise? The majority of treatment in the U.S. is stuck in the past, most physicians' mindsets haven't evolved. (thread)

Part 1 of an interview with @NirUrielMD not to miss: columbiasurgery.org/news/state-uni… #HeartMonth

"You know, [the rise in heart failure deaths] is a critical question not enough people are addressing," says @NirUrielMD. "Heart failure historically was a disease that a primary physician or cardiologist could treat, or theoretically, every doctor could. But it's evolved."

"Instead, [the majority of physicians] think they can take care of these patients, and when they identify that they cannot anymore and the patient is too sick, they offer the patient hospice care. Yet that patient missed out on the near entirety of treatment," says @NirUrielMD.

"The sad truth is that the majority of heart failure patients are not taken care of. Only 20% of heart failure patients are treated by cardiology. Instead, the majority are taken by primary physicians, and of that 20%, only 8% are treated by a heart failure specialist."

"If you look at the recent paper about compliance, we wanted every heart failure patient—even without going on a sophisticated therapy—to at least be on 3 medications. Only a minority of patients get them, and of that minority, only 1% gets the right doses. That’s how bad it is."