Real-Time Data Analytics Critical for Improving Heart Health

Real-time data analytics and partnerships between researchers and healthcare providers will help boost heart health, according to a report published in Circulation by the American Heart Association (AHA).

In the US, progress toward improved heart health has been slow, AHA noted. Recent trends in mortality have also raised serious concerns: In 2011, the rate of decline in heart disease mortality began to slow, indicating more deaths than previous trends had predicted. Additionally, AHA stated that downward trends in deaths attributed to heart disease and stroke reversed among middle-aged Americans – even among those living in traditionally healthier geographies.

“There is a need to implement innovative, integrated approaches to enhance cardiovascular health and overcome these adverse mortality trends,” said Randi Foraker, PhD, MA, FAHA, FAMIA, associate professor at the Institute for Informatics at Washington University’s School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, and chair of the writing committee for the Scientific Statement.

“There are a number of evidence-based and actionable metrics for the treatment and control of heart disease risk factors. If we use the existing data that are commonly collected in electronic health records for ongoing monitoring, we could adjust health targets to complement and support the data and provide better preventive care.”

The authors stated that a learning health system approach will help organizations deploy population heart health interventions. Learning health systems consistently generate and apply knowledge to continually enhance healthcare delivery.

To achieve a learning health system, population health interventions have to utilize health IT tools and data infrastructure to deliver evidence-based care.

“Operationalizing this model calls for a synergistic, integrated, and complementary approach using health system–wide resources. To fully extend the impact of the innovative models in learning healthcare systems, they can be linked with complementary population-health efforts traditionally led by public health practitioners,” AHA wrote.

To further establish learning health systems, organizations can integrate data streams into current models using advanced data management techniques. Providers can also include data from mobile device and wearables to complete the cycle.

“Findings can then be evaluated to determine the level of evidence to support the intervention, in which clinical contexts, and with which patient population,” AHA said.

Diverse team members and interdisciplinary partnerships will also help ensure the success of heart health interventions, the report stated.

“Researchers and healthcare professionals are essential components of a comprehensive strategy to improve cardiovascular health. Through their complementary expertise, they can provide direct patient care, implement new guidelines into management, track metrics and evaluate them over time, test novel strategies with the potential to improve cardiovascular health, and implement strategies to prevent the onset of chronic disease,” the organization said.

“Researchers in healthcare organizations and academic medical centers play an increasingly important role in systems-level approaches to preventing and managing cardiovascular disease.”

The report also noted that researchers should be trained on how to collaborate with other industry professionals to implement successful interventions.

“Healthcare professionals and researchers in training would benefit from participating on interdisciplinary teams to observe how interventions are designed, implemented, and evaluated within the constraints of busy healthcare workflows,” AHA wrote.

“Structured opportunities to shadow health service delivery, epidemiology, implementation science, and informatics researchers would provide invaluable experience in designing and implementing healthcare delivery interventions to improve population-level cardiovascular health.”

Leaders can also use real-time analysis and collection of patient-level data to assess performance and improve heart disease prevention practices in primary care settings. Additionally, the use of clinical decision support tools embedded in the EHR can help providers offer evidence-based recommendations.

“Healthcare systems must continue to meet the growing demand for data-driven strategies to optimize population cardiovascular health and to prevent chronic diseases. Successful intervention programs are designed to help healthcare professionals focus on modifiable risk factors that can prevent heart disease,” said Foraker.

“Clinical decision support tools can be developed specifically to advance progress toward preventing cardiovascular disease, with an interactive interface allowing healthcare professionals to show patients how changes in their behaviors could result in improved cardiovascular health.”

AHA stated that organizations will have to take steps to implement heart health interventions equitably across different settings and populations.

“Application of evidence-based implementation science tools and techniques can facilitate the uptake and effective use of evidence-based interventions to not only improve population cardiovascular health but also enhance and ultimately preserve health equity,” AHA concluded.

“To achieve that end, a prioritized set of cardiovascular health performance measures, particularly those commonly collected in the electronic health record and consistent with other national initiatives will facilitate dissemination of successful interventions across healthcare systems.”