The 30-day mortality (death) and readmission rates for acute care of heart attack and heart failure patients vary significantly from hospital to hospital across the nation, according to a new study published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.
Researchers analyzed findings from the 2009 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) 30-day outcomes report for acute myocardial infarction (heart attack) and heart failure, part of the CMS Hospital Compare quality initiative.
Researchers reviewed three years of experience (July 2005 to June 2008) of Medicare fee-for-service patients with heart failure and heart attack. Calculating 30-day death and readmission rates, based on nearly 600,000 heart attack admissions and more than 1 million heart failure admissions at almost 5,000 hospitals nationwide, they found:
- The average 30-day death rate for heart attack was 16.6 percent and the average rate of heart attack readmission was 19.9 percent.
- The average 30-day death rate for heart failure was 11.1 percent and 24.4 percent for readmission.