Diagnosis and treatment of heart failure in Maori and New Zealand Europeans at the Waikato Hospital.

AIMS: To determine the proportion of patients presenting with heart failure (HF) at Waikato Hospital who receive an evidence-based approach to care, and to investigate whether differences in guideline adherence between Maori and New Zealand Europeans (NZ Europeans) exist.

METHOD: An audit of medical records was performed for a random sample of 71 Maori and 69 NZ European patients with a first admission for HF at the Waikato Hospital between 1/1/2007 and 31/8/2008. Information relating to investigation and management of HF was obtained from these records, with comparisons made between Maori and NZ Europeans.

RESULTS

Maori patients admitted with HF were significantly younger than NZ European with a mean age of 62 years compared to 78 years respectively (p<0.01). An echocardiogram was performed in 57% of cases. Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors and beta-blockers were prescribed to 96% and 82% of cases with systolic dysfunction and no contraindications respectively. Diuretics were prescribed to 84%, aldosterone antagonists to 17% and angiotensin receptor blockers to 4% of cases.

CONCLUSION

In this small retrospective series the adherence to key components of HF guidelines at Waikato Hospital is comparable with that seen in previous studies. Further studies with greater case numbers will be required to clarify whether there are differences in the investigation and treatment of HF between Maori and non-Maori.