Medical therapy for patients with recent-onset heart failure with reduced ejection fraction during the COVID-19 pandemic: Insights from the Veteran's affairs healthcare system

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate trends in guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) for patients with recent-onset heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic using an interrupted time series analysis in the Veteran's Affairs Healthcare System. Among 71,428 patients with recent-onset HFrEF between 1/1/2018 and 2/28/2021, we found the pandemic was not associated with differences in treatment rates for beta-blockers, renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors, or mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists; there was a 2.6 % absolute decrease (95 % CI: 0.5 %–4.7 %) in ARNI rates in April 2020; which decreased over the pandemic. Despite the changes to healthcare delivery, the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with minimal changes in GDMT rates among patients with recent-onset HFrEF.

Keywords

• Heart failure
• Medical therapy
• Covid-19
• Quality of care