When rescue efforts don’t work well, consider hospice referral for in-home congestive heart failure (CHF) management.
Prognosis in heart failure is tricky. These pieces of history indicate poor prognosis:
- Brittle fluid management, including use of metolazone,
- Spending more than 50% of time in bed or in a recliner due to dyspnea or fatigue,
- Trouble showering due to dyspnea or fatigue,
- Orthostasis severe enough that you cannot use an ACEI, ARB or beta blocker,
- Little or no functional improvement after hospitalization.
For the medical criteria we use for CHF prognosticating, see our guidelines for admission:
https://www.hospicenw.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Guidelines-for-Hospice- Admission-01122024.pdf
For more information, call our providers at 360-814-5550 or email:
- Erika Pope: [email protected]
- Lissa Anderson: [email protected]
- Leslie Estep: [email protected]
- Anita Meyer: [email protected]
All Palliative Pearls and other resources can be found by clicking Providers at the top of this page.
If you would like to receive monthly Palliative Pearls via email, please email Pam Putney at [email protected].
