[The heart team in heart failure].

Abstract

In recent years the treatment for heart failure (HF) has become much more complex. This development has highlighted the importance of a multidisciplinary HF team to ensure the best possible individually adapted treatment decisions, taking the patient's personal wishes into account and to achieve optimal results. In Germany, specialized HF practices, clinics and tertiary bespoke HF unit centers were established to ensure qualified care for HF patients. These institutions fulfil defined standards and quality features for outpatient and inpatient treatment and cooperate closely in the framework of HF networks. The interdisciplinary HF team should be involved in the treatment from the initial step of correct diagnosis through availability for changes of the clinical status up to HF-related hospitalization due to acute or advanced HF. The core team encompasses cardiologists, skilled HF nursing personnel, cardiac surgeons and coordinators for heart transplantation and ventricular assist devices and is complimented by other specialists depending on the patient's specific etiology and severity of HF as well as relevant comorbidities. The quality of treatment is also enhanced by personal HF additional qualifications. One of the most essential goals of this multidisciplinary collaboration is patient-centered team-based recommendations and decision making, which aim to improve the prognosis of patients, reduce hospitalization rates and improve the quality of life.