Identifying opportunities to improve transitional care of patients diagnosed with heart failure and diabetes: A quality improvement

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus (DM) and heart failure (HF) are intensifying public health concerns because of their mounting prevalence, high hospitalization and mortality rates, subsequent complications, and comorbidities. DM is characterized by high glycemic levels, and, in HF, the heart cannot efficiently pump oxygenated blood throughout the body. Individuals with DM are two to four times more likely to develop HF than those without DM. DM and HF have become pandemics at local, national, and global levels. As such, they affect all people, and their occurrences are projected to double over the next two decades. DM and HF share pathophysiological characteristics, which worsen the progressions of both diseases, decrease patients' quality of life, and increase healthcare costs. Lack of glycemic control may lead to impaired structural and mechanical functions in cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). It is, therefore, necessary to identify the risk factors related to glycemic control and to guide providers in managing DM and HF patients, offering options that may slow disease progression, improve the patients' quality of life, and reduce healthcare costs.