title: EURObservational Research Programme: the Heart Failure Pilot Survey (ESC-HF Pilot).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The primary objective of the new ESC-HF Pilot Survey was to describe the clinical epidemiology of outpatients and inpatients with heart failure (HF) and the diagnostic/therapeutic processes applied across 12 participating European countries. This pilot study was specifically aimed at validating the structure, performance, and quality of the data set, for continuing the survey into a permanent registry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The ESC-HF Pilot study is a prospective, multicentre, observational survey conducted in 136 cardiology centres from 12 European countries selected to represent the different health systems and care attitudes across Europe. All outpatients with HF and patients admitted for acute HF were included during the enrolment period (1 day per week for 8 consecutive months). From October 2009 to May 2010, 5118 patients were included in this pilot survey, of which 1892 (37%) were admitted for acute HF and 3226 (63%) for chronic HF. Ischaemic aetiology was reported in about half of the patients. In patients admitted for acute HF, the most frequent clinical profile was decompensated HF (75% of cases), whereas pulmonary oedema and cardiogenic shock were reported, respectively, in 13.3 and 2.3% of the cases. The total in-hospital mortality rate was 3.8% and was cardiovascular in 90.1% of the cases. Lowest and highest mortality rates were observed in hypertensive HF and in cardiogenic shock, respectively. More than 80% of patients with chronic HF were treated with renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system blockers and β-adrenergic blockers. However, target doses of such drugs were reached in one-third to one-fourth of the patients only.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The ESC-HF Pilot Survey is an example of the possibility of utilizing an observational methodology to get insights into the current clinical practice in Europe, whose picture will be completed by the 1-year follow-up. Moreover, this study offered the opportunity to refine the organizational structure of a long-term, extended European network.
authors.affiliation: ANMCO Research Center, Florence, Italy. maggioni@anmco.it
authors.forename: Aldo P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Maggioni
authors.forename: Ulf
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Dahlström
authors.forename: Gerasimos
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Filippatos
authors.forename: Ovidiu
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Chioncel
authors.forename: Marisa Crespo
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Leiro
authors.forename: Jaroslaw
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Drozdz
authors.forename: Friedrich
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fruhwald
authors.forename: Lars
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gullestad
authors.forename: Damien
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Logeart
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Metra
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Parissis
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Persson
authors.forename: Piotr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ponikowski
authors.forename: Mathias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rauchhaus
authors.forename: Adriaan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Voors
authors.forename: Olav Wendelboe
authors.initials: OW
authors.lastname: Nielsen
authors.forename: Faiez
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zannad
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tavazzi
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002316:Cardiotonic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D055118:Medication Adherence; D010045:Outpatients; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012042:Registries
chemical_list: D002316:Cardiotonic Agents