Are the heart failure guidelines being implemented in primary care?

Introduction: Heart failure (HF) is an important public health concern in Brazil due to its high prevalence. Our objective was to study the performance of primary care physicians of the public health system in the management of heart failure in the city of Niterói, Rio de Janeiro state, comparing their practice to that recommended by the Brazilian Society of Cardiology (BSC) guidelines.

Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 167 patients aged over 18, with a primary diagnosis of heart failure (HF), were studied at the university hospital by questionnaire, physical exam, electrocardiogram (ECG), chest X-ray, and echocardiogram (echo) as the gold standard exam.

The association between metabolic syndrome and its components and heart failure in patients referred to a primary care facility.

Background: Metabolic syndrome (MS) is characterized by a collection of risk factors that are associated with elevated rates of cardiovascular events and the risk of developing heart failure (HF). In our field, the association of MS in stable chronic HF patients has not been established.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of MS in relation to gender and HF type in patients treated at a Primary Care Facility.