Get With The Guidelines-Heart Failure (GWTG-HF) Mortality Calculator
Get With The Guidelines–Heart Failure (GWTG-HF) Mortality Risk Score: Explanation and Clinical Context
The GWTG-HF Risk Score is a validated tool developed from the American Heart Association's national registry to predict in-hospital mortality in patients admitted with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF).
It incorporates seven readily available clinical variables at the time of hospital admission: age, systolic blood pressure, heart rate, serum sodium, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), presence of COPD, and race.
Higher scores indicate a greater risk of in-hospital mortality. The model has been widely validated and is useful for risk stratification, treatment intensity decisions, and prognosis communication in the acute setting.
Clinicians should interpret the score in context—considering concurrent comorbidities, acute hemodynamic instability, and overall clinical judgment.
Reference:
Fonarow GC, Adams KF Jr, Abraham WT, et al. Risk Stratification for In-Hospital Mortality in Acutely Decompensated Heart Failure: Classification and Regression Tree Analysis. JAMA. 2005;293(5):572–580. doi:10.1001/jama.293.5.572