title: Heart failure management in Poland: The National Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and Treatment Program POLKARD, edition 2003-2005.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The aim of this study was to assess actual management of heart failure (HF) in Poland, both in outpatient clinics and hospitals.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The survey was undertaken between April 21 2005 and December 31 2005 in 796 outpatient departments and 258 internal medicine and cardiology hospital wards chosen at random. In total 3980 HF outpatients and 1294 inpatients were included. Trained nurses performed the questionnaire-based assessment of diagnostic procedures and pharmacotherapy. Heart failure was diagnosed among general practitioners' (GPs) outpatients most frequently, basing on symptoms (64.0%), ECG (47.0%) and chest X-ray (29.9%), while specialists based their diagnosis on symptoms (52.2%) and echocardiography (37.7%). Most HF outpatients and hospital patients were treated with ACE-I (88.3% and 81%, respectively), beta-blockers (68.3% vs. 84.7%) and diuretics (74.4% vs. 90.3%). Spironolactone accounted for 48.3% vs. 56.3% of the patients, while digitalis glycosides 39.2% and 27.4%, respectively. AT-1 blockers were used very rarely (3.5% vs. 2.5%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  GPs in Poland tend to diagnose HF on clinical grounds while specialists use more diagnostic investigations. Specialists provide higher quality HF care than GPs, both in outpatient clinics and hospitals. Significant progress in HF management has occurred in Poland since previous studies. (Cardiol J 2007; 14: 552-560).
authors.forename: Małgorzata
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fedyk-Łukasik
authors.forename: Tomasz
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zdrojewski
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wizner
authors.forename: Grzegorz
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Opolski
authors.forename: Jacek
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dubiel
authors.forename: Małgorzata
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stompór
authors.forename: Bogdan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wyrzykowski
authors.forename: Irina
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mogilnaya
authors.forename: Michał
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Marchel
authors.forename: Tomasz
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Grodzicki