CGM Use in Heart Failure

HF is one of the leading causes of hospitalization among older adults. Nearly 1 in 4 HF patients are readmitted within 30 days of discharge and despite various strategies, the re-hospitalization rates remain high. HF hospitalization has an impact on morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. Therefore, it is crucial to identify and implement effective strategies to reduce the health and economic burden of HF re-hospitalization. Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the most common comorbidities in HF, impacting approximately a third of all patients. Several studies have reported that HF patients with DM have higher rates of recurrent HF hospitalizations, longer durations of hospital stay, and significantly higher mortality compared to HF patients without DM. Given the high prevalence and impact of DM on HF prognosis, it is important to understand how optimizing DM control can affect and improve the prognosis in this population. Glucose monitoring is central to safe and effective management for individuals with DM, particularly those using insulin. Recent studies have shown that real-time (rt) continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), by providing glucose measurements as often as every 5 minutes, low and high glucose alerts, and glucose trend information, with the potential to better inform diabetes management decisions compared with episodic self-monitoring with a blood glucose meter. This pilot study will examine the potential benefits of remote glucose monitoring by rt-CGM-driven decisions for the hospital and post-discharge management patients with comorbid HF and DM.