Patrice Cacoub, Gilles Berrut, Olivier Hanon, Tahar Chouihed, Nicholas Lamblin, Nicholas Delarche, Emmanuel Andrès, Patrick Henry, Thibaud Damy, CHU Henri Mondor, Centre d'investigation clinique plurithématique Pierre Drouin [Nancy] (CIC-P), Centre d'investigation clinique [Nancy] (CIC), Université de Lorraine (UL)-Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire de Nancy (CHRU Nancy)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Université de Lorraine (UL)-Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire de Nancy (CHRU Nancy)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Défaillance Cardiovasculaire Aiguë et Chronique (DCAC), Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire de Nancy (CHRU Nancy)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Université de Lorraine (UL), Cardiovascular and Renal Clinical Trialists [Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy] (INI-CRCT), Institut Lorrain du Coeur et des Vaisseaux Louis Mathieu [Nancy], French-Clinical Research Infrastructure Network - F-CRIN [Paris] (Cardiovascular & Renal Clinical Trialists - CRCT ), Centre hospitalier de Pau, Pôle hospitalo-universitaire de gérontologie clinique [Nantes], Centre hospitalier universitaire de Nantes (CHU Nantes), Service d'Immunologie [CHU Pitié-Salpétrière], CHU Pitié-Salpêtrière [AP-HP], Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP) (AP-HP)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP) (AP-HP)-Sorbonne Université (SU), Hôpital Lariboisière-Fernand-Widal [APHP], Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP) (AP-HP), Institut Pasteur de Lille, Réseau International des Instituts Pasteur (RIIP), Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire [Lille] (CHRU Lille), Université de Lille, CHU Strasbourg, AP-HP - Hôpital Cochin Broca Hôtel Dieu [Paris], Université de Paris (UP), Novartis provided financial support for logistic management but was not involved in the writing of the manuscript., CHU Henri Mondor [Créteil], Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire de Nancy (CHRU Nancy)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Université de Lorraine (UL)-Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire de Nancy (CHRU Nancy)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Université de Lorraine (UL), Université Paris Cité (UPCité), and Gestionnaire, HAL Sorbonne Université 5
International audience; Multidisciplinary management of worsening heart failure (HF) in the elderly improves survival. To ensure patients have access to adequate care, the current HF and French health authority guidelines advise establishing a clearly defined HF patient pathway. This pathway involves coordinating multiple disciplines to manage decompensating HF. Yet, recent registry data indicate that insufficient numbers of patients receive specialised cardiology care, which increases the risk of rehospitalisation and mortality. The patient pathway in France involves three key stages: presentation with decompensated HF, stabilisation within a hospital setting and transitional care back out into the community. In each of these three phases, HF diagnosis, severity and precipitating factors need to be promptly identified and managed. This is particularly pertinent in older, frail patients who may present with atypical symptoms or coexisting comorbidities and for whom geriatric evaluation may be needed or specific geriatric syndrome management implemented. In the transition phase, multi-professional post-discharge management must be coordinated with community health care professionals. When the patient is discharged, HF medication must be optimised, and patients educated about self-care and monitoring symptoms. This review provides practical guidance to clinicians managing worsening HF in the elderly.