193 - Epidemiology of Arrhythmic Events in Heart Patients Immediately Post-Discharge, Insights From Mobile Cardiac Telemetry

Abstract

Background: Heart failure (HF) is one of the most common reasons for hospital admission as well as re-hospitalization in the United States. One reason for re-hospitalization in HF patients are arrhythmic events. Moreover, arrhythmias confer a substantial risk of mortality and morbidity in patients with HF, and this represents a major healthcare burden worldwide. This project sought to describe the arrhythmia burden in HF patients immediately following a HF hospitalization. Methods: Patients admitted with acute decompensated HF were enrolled over a 13 month period beginning November 2015, and agreed to be monitored for 30 days post-discharge with a wireless cutaneous telemetry sensor. Clinicians were alerted using variables from the remote monitoring systems to evaluate and guide further assessment and intervention. Clinically significant arrhythmia prompted a phone call or home visit for additional assessment and intervention. Results: 31 patients participated in the program with a mean age of 78.5 years, 58% being 80 years old or older. 25/31 subjects had 1451 arrhythmic events (range: 0–474) during 665 total days of post-discharge monitoring (average 21.5 days/per patient). The most common arrhythmia was atrial fibrillation (453 episodes), while tachycardia, monomorphic VT, and junctional rhythm were the least common with 2 episodes each. Conclusions: HF patients immediately following a HF hospitalization have a wide variety and large number of arrhythmia events. Atrial fibrillation is the most common arrhythmia and may represent a target for early clinical intervention to prevent HF re-hospitalization.