Please select the eligibility criteria that correspond to the clinical trial below.
Title: Pilot Study of a Focused Palliative Care Intervention for Recently Hospitalized High-Risk Patients With Heart Failure
Brief Summary: This small pilot study will be assessing the the impact of a standardized, social-worker led, longitudinal palliative care intervention on alignment of patient and physician understanding of prognosis and goals of care. Secondary objectives include assessing the impact of this intervention on documentation of advanced care planning and end of life preferences, symptom burden, quality of life and health care utilization.


Options:
A: Inclusion Criteria

* Symptomatic Heart Failure (NYHA II-IV)
* Hospitalized or recently for acute decompensation with at least one of the following high-risk features

  * Prior hospitalization for Heart Failure (HF) within 1 year
  * Age \> 80 years
  * Chronic Kidney Disease (estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR) \< 45 mL/min/m2)
  * Systolic Blood Pressure \< 100 mm Hg
  * Serum sodium \< 130 meq/L
  * Cardiogenic Shock (Cardiac Index \< 2.0)
  * Serious Non-Cardiovascular Illness (e.g. advanced stage cancer, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) , or the like.
* Ability to Provide Informed Consent
* Permission of attending physician

Exclusion Criteria

* Anticipated major cardiac surgery, including Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) or transplant, within 3 months of enrollment
* Already enrolled in hospice or receiving outpatient palliative care
B: Inclusion criteria:

1. Diagnosis of HF from either systolic or diastolic dysfunction, with an ejection fraction of ≤ 40%
2. Completion of an outpatient HF visit within the past 6 months
3. Ability to read, write, and speak in English

Exclusion criteria:

1. Short BLESSED cognitive score \> 10 to rule out significant cognitive impairment;82
2. Diagnosis of any additional terminal illness with life expectancy of ≤ 1 year not related to heart disease
3. Psychiatric illness that required hospitalization in the past year; and (4) age less than 18 years
C: Patients with a confirmed diagnosis in accordance with the criteria proposed by the European Society of Cardiology and with NYHA III-IV symptoms. And at least one of following criteria;

1. At least one episode of worsening heart failure that resolved with injection / infusion of diuretics or the addition of other heart failure treatment in the last 6 months and regarded optimally treated according to the responsible physician.
2. Need for infusions-treatment.
3. Chronic poor quality of life (VAS \< 50)
4. Signs of cardiac cachexia (involuntary non-oedematous weight loss ≥ 6% of total body weight within the last 6-12 months)
5. less than one year life expectancy.

Exclusion Criteria:

Ineligible are patients:

1. who do not want to participate in the study;
2. with severe communication problems;
3. with severe dementia;
4. with other serious disease in which heart failure is of secondary importance;
5. with other life-threatening illness as the primary diagnosis with expected short survival;
6. when the Primary Care Center which is responsible for patient care is geographically located from more than 30 km radius outside the hospital; and
7. participating in another clinical trial. -
D: Inclusion Criteria:

Patient participant:

* Patients must be 21 years old or older and must be diagnosed with advanced heart failure (New York Heart Association Class III and IV). Patients must be aware of their diagnosis
* Caregiver/Decision-maker participant: Subject must be 21 years old or older Participant must be either

  * appointed substitute decision maker or
  * most likely to be substitute decision maker for patient (if patient were to lose decision-making capacity)

Exclusion Criteria:

* Patient participant: Patients must not have any psychiatric or cognitive disorders
* Caregiver/Decision-maker participant: Cannot be a maid or foreign domestic worker

Answer: A