Irene Marques1, Sara Abreu2, Manuela V Bertão2, Betânia Ferreira2, Raquel Lopes Ramos2, Juliana Lopes2, Sandra Nunes2, Denisa Mendonça3, Laetitia Teixeira4. 1. Department of Internal Medicine, Centro Hospitalar do Porto, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas de Abel Salazar, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal. Electronic address: mirenemarquesm@gmail.com. 2. Department of Internal Medicine, Centro Hospitalar do Porto, Porto, Portugal. 3. Department of Population Studies, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas de Abel Salazar, EPIUnit-Instituto de Saúde Pública, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal. 4. Department of Population Studies, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas de Abel Salazar, CINTESIS/ICBAS-UP, EPIUnit-Instituto de Saúde Pública, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: This study aims to characterize patients hospitalized for acute heart failure (HF) in an internal medicine department and their one-year mortality and rate of rehospitalization for decompensated HF. METHODS: This retrospective observational study enrolled all patients discharged in 2012 after hospitalization for acute HF. Discharge summaries, clinical records and telephone interviews were analysed. The data reports to the year before implementation of a heart failure clinic. RESULTS: Four hundred and twenty-nine patients were enrolled, with a mean age of 79 years, 62.5% female. The most prevalent comorbidity and etiology was hypertension (86.7%) and the most frequent decompensation trigger was infection. HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) was present in 70.5%. In-hospital mortality was 7.9%. At discharge more than half of the patients were prescribed beta-blockers (52.8%) and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (52%). Women presented a significantly higher proportion of HFpEF than men (75.3% vs. 62.7%, p=0.01). Patients with diabetes and those with ischemic etiology had significantly higher proportions of HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) (34.8% vs. 24.3% in non-diabetic patients, p=0.027, and 56.2% vs. 15.6% for other etiologies, p<0.001). The HFrEF group were more frequently discharged under beta-blockers and spironolactone (75.2% vs. 46.4% in the HFpEF group, p<0.001 and 31.2% vs. 12.6% in the HFpEF group, p<0.001, respectively). Mortality was 34.3% and rehospitalization for HF was 30.5% in one-year follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: The population characterized is an elderly one, mainly female and with HFpEF. Nearly a third of patients died and/or were rehospitalized in the year following discharge.
OBJECTIVE: This study aims to characterize patients hospitalized for acute heart failure (HF) in an internal medicine department and their one-year mortality and rate of rehospitalization for decompensated HF. METHODS: This retrospective observational study enrolled all patients discharged in 2012 after hospitalization for acute HF. Discharge summaries, clinical records and telephone interviews were analysed. The data reports to the year before implementation of a heart failure clinic. RESULTS: Four hundred and twenty-nine patients were enrolled, with a mean age of 79 years, 62.5% female. The most prevalent comorbidity and etiology was hypertension (86.7%) and the most frequent decompensation trigger was infection. HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) was present in 70.5%. In-hospital mortality was 7.9%. At discharge more than half of the patients were prescribed beta-blockers (52.8%) and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (52%). Women presented a significantly higher proportion of HFpEF than men (75.3% vs. 62.7%, p=0.01). Patients with diabetes and those with ischemic etiology had significantly higher proportions of HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) (34.8% vs. 24.3% in non-diabeticpatients, p=0.027, and 56.2% vs. 15.6% for other etiologies, p<0.001). The HFrEF group were more frequently discharged under beta-blockers and spironolactone (75.2% vs. 46.4% in the HFpEF group, p<0.001 and 31.2% vs. 12.6% in the HFpEF group, p<0.001, respectively). Mortality was 34.3% and rehospitalization for HF was 30.5% in one-year follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: The population characterized is an elderly one, mainly female and with HFpEF. Nearly a third of patients died and/or were rehospitalized in the year following discharge.