Heart Failure Quality Measures
Smoking is a modifiable risk factor for heart disease. National
guidelines strongly recommend smoking counseling to help persons with heart
disease to quit smoking. (
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Prevention and Cessation of Cigarette Smoking: Control of Tobacco Use). Tobacco Cessation Guidelines from the United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)
provide helpful tips on smoking cessation for patients.
At St. Mary's Hospital Medical Center, 81 percent of eligible heart failure patients received referrals for smoking cessation counseling prior to discharge in 2006.