End-of-life care in heart failure
03/25/24 at 03:00 AM
End-of-life care in heart failure
MedPageToday; by Crystal Phend, reviewed by Andrew Perry, MD; 3/22/24
Palliative care has a perception problem. It's often associated with end of life or advanced cancer. However, cardiovascular disease actually accounts for a higher proportion of adults in need of palliative care than does cancer (38.5% vs 34%), according to the World Health Organization. Patients with heart failure (HF) have a median survival of about 5 years -- on par with many types of cancer, yet patients with cancer are much more likely to be referred to palliative care.