The effect of an integrated care approach for heart failure on general practice.

Background: Recent studies have investigated specific strategies for heart failure management. None has involved collaboration between primary and secondary care. Potential gains for patients may result from collaborative strategies.

Pseudonormal mitral filling pattern predicts hospital re-admission in patients with congestive heart failure.

Objectives: We sought to investigate whether pseudonormal (PN) filling was associated with death or hospital admission in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF).

Background: The high mortality rate associated with CHF is related to many clinical and echocardiographic variables. In particular, a short mitral deceleration time and restrictive diastolic filling predict death and/or hospital admission.