Nurse‐Led Heart Failure Clinics Are Associated With Reduced Mortality but Not Heart Failure Hospitalization

BACKGROUND: Follow‐up in a nurse‐led heart failure (HF) clinic is recommended in HF guidelines, but its association with outcomes remains controversial, with previous studies including few and highly selected patients. Thus, large analyses of “real‐world” samples are needed. Aims were to assess: (1) independent predictors of and (2) prognosis associated with planned referral to nurse‐led HF clinics. METHODS AND RESULTS: We analyzed data from the SwedeHF (Swedish HF Registry) using multivariable logistic regressions to identify independent predictors of planned referral to a nurse‐led HF clinic and multivariable Cox regressions to test associations between planned referral and outcomes (all‐cause death, HF hospitalization, and their composite). Of 40 992 patients, 39% were planned to be referred to a follow‐up in a nurse‐led HF clinic. Independent characteristics associated with planned referral were shorter duration of HF, clinical markers of more‐severe HF, such as lower ejection fraction, higher New York Heart Association class and N‐terminal pro‐B‐type natriuretic peptide, and lower blood pressure, as well as cohabitating versus living alone, male sex, fewer comorbidities, and more use of HF treatments. After adjustments, planned referral to a nurse‐led HF clinic was associated with reduced mortality and mortality/HF hospitalization, but not HF hospitalization alone. CONCLUSIONS: In this nation‐wide registry, 39% of our identified HF cohort was planned to be referred to a nurse‐led HF clinic. Planned referral reflected more‐severe HF, but also sex‐ and family‐related factors, and it was independently associated with lower risk of death, but not of HF hospitalization.