Non-interventional Study on Guideline Directed Medical Therapy for Patients With Heart Failure (HF) in Germany

To be considered for this study, you would need to be at least 18 years old and be currently an inpatient in one of the participating hospitals in Germany for at least 24 hours. You must have a diagnosis of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), meaning your heart's pumping ability is below a certain level. At the time you're admitted to the hospital for this condition, you should be taking no more than two of the main types of heart medications recommended by the guidelines.

There are also some reasons why you wouldn't be able to join. For example, if you were admitted in a state of severe shock, or if you've already had a heart transplant, you wouldn't be eligible. If you've previously had severe side effects or intolerances to two or more medications within the same class of recommended heart drugs, you also couldn't take part. However, if you had a reaction to one type of ACE inhibitor but can tolerate another (like an ARB), you might still be able to participate. Lastly, you can't be pregnant or breastfeeding, or already be involved in another clinical trial.

This is a 'non-interventional study', which means you wouldn't be given any new or experimental treatments as part of the research. Instead, the study observes the usual care you receive. Your doctors will continue to treat your heart failure using the standard guidelines. The study would involve collecting information about your heart failure, the medications you're prescribed during your hospital stay, and how these are managed when you go home. Researchers will also look at how your symptoms change, your general well-being, and outcomes like whether you need to be rehospitalised. There are no specific study visits or extra medication to take beyond your standard care; information will be gathered from your routine medical records and potentially through questionnaires about your health.