STOP-HF: Expanding the role of HF programs into the community

Abstract

The St Vincent's Screening TO Prevent Heart Failure (STOP-HF) study is a recently published trial that assessed the use of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) as a screening tool for HF in an at-risk population in reducing newly-diagnosed heart failure and prevalence of significant left ventricular (LV) systolic and/or diastolic dysfunction. The study provides an excellent model to the global community on how to integrate primary care simple screening with secondary and tertiary level targeted diagnostic and therapeutic system. This integration includes screening of high-risk groups, use of a sensitive screening tool, early diagnostic modalities, early therapeutic interventions, and proper assessment of the hard clinical outcomes. However, more studies are needed across multiple sites around the world with different levels of health care services and variable biomarkers to identify higher-risk groups.