Heart Failure Data Standards Updated by ACC/AHA

March 23, 2021—The American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the American Heart Association (AHA) announced the publication of an update to heart failure data standards.

The document updates ACC/AHA’s key data elements and definitions for measuring the clinical management and outcomes of patients with chronic heart failure. Biykem Bozkurt, MD, et al published the findings online in Journal of the American College of Cardiology and AHA’s Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes. The document was developed in collaboration with the Heart Failure Society of America, the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation, and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons.

According to the ACC/AHA announcement, the writing committee for this 2021 document presents language that does not differentiate between chronic or acute heart failure, inpatient versus outpatient, or whether patients are receiving palliative care. Thus, the data elements apply to the full range of care provided to patients with heart failure and are intended to be useful for all care settings.

Additionally, the societies stated that the document includes data elements for heart failure risk factors, cardiovascular history, and noncardiovascular health determinants including COVID-19 infection. Patient assessment with more detailed elements for symptoms, signs, physical exam findings, stages, and functional assessment is updated. This document stresses that health failure data standards are more critical now for clinical providers, investigators, administrators, health care services and institutions, regulators, legislators, and payers because of the growing burden of heart failure and increasing focus on performance measures, among other factors.